Located on the highest peak of the Massif, Camp Boule is one of the unmissable rendezvous of Charlevoix gastronomy offering an unrivaled view of the river and its surroundings. On his menu, local products, cooking on wood and seasonal delicacies prepared with authenticity.
Opened a year ago as L’Effet Papillon, the location has since changed its name to that of the first chalet built on the mountain for après-ski: Camp Boule. Chef David Forbes offers no-nonsense cuisine here that cuts to the chase by primarily targeting the taste buds.
After having cut his teeth in Montreal and Quebec, the chef headed to Charlevoix (Labours, Tavola, La Ferme) a few years ago, focusing on the foodstuffs of this region that he ” amour d’amour” and to its producers with whom a bond has been forged over time. “My cuisine, I want it generous, straight from the heart,” says David Forbes, who has a particular fondness for less popular foods – these shunned parts of meat, for example -, which he knows how to skillfully restore.
“People are curious and want to try new things and when it’s done well, it’s fun!” Cooking must remain fun and in the pleasure of eating. I love when it’s real, when it tastes! he says, emphasizing the “a bit raw, a punk” side of his approach.
During our visit, a generous salad of asparagus on Migneron de Charlevoix cream, seafood gnocchi where the lobster is displayed without discretion and a beef scoter surrounded by beets and new potatoes parade in turn. . In the finish, sweets as fine as they are delicious. Camp Boule seduces with a healthy, generous and unifying cuisine, which is reinvented every week.
Opened in winter until now, the restaurant is going into summer mode for the first time this year. It ties in with the activities and life of the mountain: in the evening, by pairing its gastronomic offer with the new sound and light show The Flight of the Mechanical Bird; during the day, with a “Panoramic Brunch” package that offers a gondola ride to get your fill of the view, after you’ve had your fill!
