By Gaëtan Vaudry
During our brief stay of a few days in the city of Saguenay, we couldn’t help but stop at Café Cambio on Racine East Street four or five times. Firstly, to enjoy the atmosphere of this downtown Chicoutimi solidarity cooperative, and secondly, to savor affordable and healthy dishes that showcase products from various local producers.
As soon as Virginie Simard-Dufour starts talking about the products available at this fair-trade and organic micro-roastery founded in March 2005, her eyes light up. She speaks passionately about the tireless teamwork of 32 members, including 10 worker-members: “
Under the label, we embody a vision of a better world—one where farmers and workers sit at the negotiating table as equals
,” proudly notes the service manager, restaurant coordinator, and barista.
Café Cambio, a key gathering spot for students from the Chicoutimi CEGEP and the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC), is also a venue for showcasing young Saguenay artists. The establishment regularly hosts art openings and intimate acoustic concerts of emerging music.
During my visit last November, I had the chance to enjoy some excellent dishes at this establishment, which was the brainchild of two young Montrealers and childhood friends, Guylaine Pelletier and Geneviève Demers. To start, I had a comforting mushroom soup, perfect for that time of year. I followed it with the spicy Bedi panini (Cajun-seasoned chicken, caramelized onions, spinach, mozzarella, and vegenaise), served with salad, corn chips, and salsa. For dessert, I enjoyed the daily special, all accompanied by one of their excellent fair-trade coffees. To my surprise, the bill for this delicious three-course meal was very affordable!
What also struck me during my first visit was their “Pay it Forward” concept, where customers can anonymously donate a soup or coffee to someone in need. Given the growing issue of homelessness in downtown Chicoutimi, this gesture of generosity is truly admirable and meaningful.
Café Cambio’s coffee and products are available at various points of sale across the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region, including Chicoutimi, Jonquière, La Baie, Saint-Ambroise/Saint-Honoré, MRC Lac-Saint-Jean-Est, MRC Domaine-du-Roy, Bas-Saguenay, Saint-Fulgence/Sainte-Rose-du-Sacré-Cœur, Tadoussac, Les Bergeronnes, Les Escoumins, and even the Côte-Nord!
Café Cambio
414, rue Racine Est, Chicoutimi
418 549-7830
cafecambio.ca
By Gaëtan Vaudry
According to Marie Lerdu, the lodging manager, the project to restore this 1960s motel was a bit of a wild idea. Nevertheless, this initiative has borne fruit, as today, the Auberge Camp de Base, located at the entrance to L'Anse Saint-Jean in the heart of the Bas Saguenay valley, has quickly become a true hub of village life.
In addition to efficiently managing the lodging aspect of the establishment (9 rooms, a dormitory, a communal kitchen, and several camping areas), the team at Auberge Camp de Base also offers a resto-bar highlighting local products, including meats and fish smoked on-site. After a few weeks of rest, the resto-bar team is back for the colorful winter season. On the menu, a complete tourist experience in the Bas-Saguenay area, in partnership with Mont-Édouard, Entre Chien et Loups, and Saguenay Adventures. Indulge in one of the excursion packages that connect you with 40 malamute dogs in the heart of the Fjord-du-Saguenay mountains, or enjoy essential days of alpine skiing, snowshoeing, Fatbike, and cross-country skiing.
Upon returning to Auberge Camp de Base, you can relax and enjoy a unique culinary experience, as the establishment is certified as a flavor ambassador by Zone Boréale, placing great importance on the origin of its local or regional products: "Although the place attracts a large number of tourists throughout the year, we have the reputation of being a social gathering place for village residents," shares Marie Lerdu. "The mix of tourists and our residents creates very warm evenings. That's why we've just made some renovations, allowing us to offer several themed evenings to our customers." In the coming months, Auberge Camp de Base will offer art openings, song performances, improvisation, and even board game nights.
Open from Thursday to Saturday starting at 4 PM, the resto-bar at Auberge Camp de Base invites you to its Holiday season party on the upcoming Saturday, December 16, starting at 6 PM. The group Les Quêteux du Lac-St-Jean will perform traditional call-and-response songs, accompanied by the experienced caller Ghislain Jutras. Tickets priced at $18 are available on site. The upcoming evenings' programming will be available through the official Facebook page of the inn: https://facebook.com/aubergelecampdebase.
Furthermore, the management of Auberge Camp de Base is delighted to participate as an official exhibitor at the European Christmas Market of Saguenay, held from November 30 to December 3 and from December 7 to 10 at Place du Citoyen in Chicoutimi. On-site, over 32 exhibitors, mulled wine, and hundreds of gift ideas, all in an enchanting and magical Christmas setting.
Auberge Camp de Base
5, rue Saint-Jean-Baptiste
L'Anse-Saint-Jean
https://aubergecampdebase.com
By Gaëtan Vaudry
Photo: Héliotrope Editions
At just 31 years of age, his name is already on everyone's lips. Born in Montreal, but a Chicoutimi adoptee by choice, Kevin Lambert is a prolific author collecting the most prestigious awards.
His mantelpiece is already overflowing with numerous accolades, including the best thesis in Arts and Humanities from the University of Montreal, the Pierre L'Hérault Emerging Critic Award, the Discovery Award at the Saguenay−Lac-Saint-Jean Book Fair, the Sade Prize, the CALQ (Quebec Council of Arts and Letters) Prize, the Ringuet Prize, the December Prize, and the 2023 Médicis Prize... to name a few!
Graduating from the University of Montreal with a master's and a doctorate, the writer published his first novel You Will Love What You Have Killed in 2017. In this story set in an unhealthy and morbid Chicoutimi, Kevin Lambert uses hatred as a literary tone and sharply criticizes the xenophobia and homophobia that still prevails in Quebec. The young man already managed to turn many heads, mainly those in the Quebec literary scene. This success set the stage for his second novel, Querelle of Roberval, published a year later. This work - renamed Querelle by his French publisher - narrating the struggle of the workers at the Roberval sawmill against their employer, received a multitude of awards and acknowledgements, propelling Kevin Lambert's name beyond our borders.
Many will remember that in July 2023, Kevin Lambert did not appreciate Quebec's Prime Minister, François Legault, highlighting his latest work Let Our Joy Remain on Twitter. The author fiercely replied to the CAQ leader's literary critique on social media: "Mr. Legault, in the midst of a housing crisis, while your government works to undermine the last bastions protecting us from extreme gentrification in Montreal, promoting my book is pitiful (...) What bothered me was not so much the fact that he reads books that are far from his political ideas or echo chamber, but the interpretation he made of my book in the context of the housing crisis." The two men would subsequently exchange a few messages.
Openly gay, Kevin Lambert, in an interview with La Presse and director René-Richard Cyr in 2021, asserts his desire to contribute to the homosexual affirmation movement in his works: "I like being part of the LGBTQ category," he emphasizes. According to him, the cultural industry imposes changes, adjustments: "Categories don't bother me at all. It's a big machine, the cultural industry, it takes time to move, but it moves.
On November 9, 2023, Kevin Lambert received the Médicis Prize for Let Our Joy Remain, a French literary award established in 1958, intended to honor a novel, a narrative, a collection of short stories, by an author who is beginning or does not yet have a reputation corresponding to their talent. The Médicis comes with a prize of 1000 euros, roughly less than 1500 dollars.
