More than ten tons of kitchen scraps composted every year — a statistic the house posts itself, right beside the buttermilk scones.
The café has been in Pointe-Claire Village since 2001, but its current story begins in 2014, when Phil and Ellie acquired it. Two chefs by trade, not improvised restaurateurs: Phil came through the ITHQ and then the Cordon Bleu before earning his stripes at La Louisiane, the Royal Montreal Golf Club and as a private chef; Ellie studied at the École hôtelière des Laurentides and cooked at La Louisiane, the Monkland Taverne and L'Eau à la Bouche.
The house principle fits on one line: everything is made on site, from scratch. The whole-wheat bread with ground flax seeds, the buttermilk-and-maple scones, the house-cured salmon gravlax, the beef-and-lamb merguez hand-rolled Moroccan-style, the hot sauce put up in jars — nothing arrives through the back door already made. The menu makes room for vegetarians, vegans and the gluten-free without turning it into a manifesto.
The other conviction, the house puts a number on itself: more than ten tons of kitchen scraps composted a year, and takeout containers that are compostable or recyclable. Since 2014, the couple has also supported the On Rock food bank, AMCAL family services, West Island Community Shares and a string of fundraisers for local schools and organizations. A village café in the full sense: it feeds the neighbourhood, and takes care of it.