La Belle Patate owner Pascal Cormier grills up a spicy sausage burger

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      Pascal Cormier was raised by his father in a rural part of Quebec, but visits to his mother’s home on the South Shore—in suburban Montreal—introduced him to classic Montreal diner food.

      “That’s how I basically got to eat all this food that I’m serving now,” the owner of La Belle Patate (1215 Davie Street) told the Georgia Straight during an interview at his West End restaurant. “People eat poutine all the time, really. It’s comfort food. Smoked meat sandwiches, hot dogs—it’s comfort food. People need to eat, so comfort food will always be around.”

      At the age of 18, Cormier followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the Canadian Forces. In 1992, he was sent to Vancouver Island to work on the naval base in Esquimalt. After six years of service, Cormier left the military and began working in the restaurant industry in Victoria. On his days off, he would often go to an Esquimalt restaurant called La Belle Patate for a taste of home.

      “My friend Matty [Mathieu Lott] opened it in 2008, and I would eat there a lot,” Cormier recalled. “One day when I was there, I said, ‘Hey, if you need a hand, I’m free.’ I started helping him out a little bit here and there, and that turned into full-time work.”

      In late 2009, Cormier moved to the mainland and opened another location of La Belle Patate in Vancouver. At the time, there weren’t many restaurants serving French-Canadian cuisine in Vancouver, but the popularity of poutine has since grown.

      “There are a lot of people here from Quebec or from back east. If you walk up and down Davie [Street], you hear a lot of French now. A good portion of my clientele is from Quebec, and they love the fact that it’s authentic stuff and not just somebody trying to make poutine,” he said. “Probably a greater portion is non-Quebec people, and poutine is just growing. So many places serve poutine now.”

      Cormier said that the key to authentic poutine is the cheese.

      “It has to be fresh—the fresher the better,” he explained. “The curd is Cheddar cheese, but it’s brand-new [fresh] so it hasn’t had time to age. Therefore it’s hard, it’s firm, it’s rubbery, and it squeaks. That is what makes it.”

      He also said that many diners on the West Coast prefer crispy french fries, but traditionally, poutine fries should be soft and pillowy. At La Belle Patate, where over 40 varieties of poutine are on offer, Cormier uses red or Yukon Gold potatoes.

      Even when Cormier isn’t at the restaurant, he prefers to cook simple, hearty meals for himself and his daughter. One of his specialties is a spicy Italian sausage and beef burger, which combines pork, beef, and spices. It was inspired by a sausage burger that a Belle Patate employee created, but Cormier adds his own touch with a tangy homemade relish. Cooked on the barbecue or the stovetop, the burger pairs well with a crisp, light beer.

      Pascal Cormier’s spicy Italian sausage and beef burger

      Ingredients

      ½ lb (227 g) Italian sausage meat
      ½ lb (227 g) lean ground beef
      1 tsp (5 mL) Montreal steak spice
      ½ tsp (2 mL) salt
      1 tsp (5 mL) pepper
      ½ tsp (2 mL) garlic powder
      4 slices marbled Cheddar cheese
      4 hamburger buns or kaiser buns
      Ketchup to taste
      Mustard to taste
      Mayonnaise to taste
      Homemade relish (see recipe below) to taste

      Method

      1. In a large bowl, combine sausage meat, ground beef, and all spices. Using clean hands, mix together thoroughly.
         
      2. Divide the mixture into four portions and make patties by rolling the meat into a ball and patting flat.
         
      3. On a barbecue grill or in a large pan over medium heat, cook the patties for about 5 minutes, or until edges start to brown and juices start to form. Flip the patties using a spatula and cook for another 5 minutes, or until meat is cooked through.
         
      4. Place a cheese slice on top of each patty and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until just melted. Warm buns on the barbecue grill or in the toaster oven until just toasted.
         
      5. Assemble burgers by placing the patty cheese side down onto the bottom of the bun. Top with condiments to taste.

      Homemade relish

      Ingredients

      ½ cup (125 mL) apple cider vinegar
      1 cup (250 mL) granulated white sugar
      1 Tbsp (15 mL) salt
      ½ tsp (2 mL) pepper
      1 tsp (5 mL) dry mustard
      ¼ tsp (1 mL) garlic powder
      2 cucumbers, peeled and finely diced
      1 onion, peeled and finely diced

      Method

      1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, dry mustard, and garlic powder. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar has dissolved.
         
      2. Place cucumber and onion in a medium bowl. Pour syrup over top and stir. Let cool and refrigerate for 24 hours covered.
         
      3. Carefully strain out some of the liquid before serving so mixture is moist but not watery.

      Yield: 4 burgers. Recipe has not been tested by the Georgia Straight.

      Pascal Cormier demonstrates how to make a hamburger patty.

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