Dating for Foodies: A tour of Montreal’s Little Italy with Rencontre Sportive

Photo Credit: Indigonat

Foodies can now find their match by participating in activities that are specifically catered to them. Well, at least you know when you meet someone at one of these events that you will not end up with a person who eat Kraft Dinner or McDonald everyday!

Last Saturday I was curious, about this dating site for people who love the outdoors: Rencontre Sportive. They organized a tour of Montreal’s Little Italy. For $24 we had the service of a guide who explained the history of the neighbourhood, walked us to the best spot for: kitchen paraphernalia, cheeses and Italian products, best pizza, famous coffee and the renowned Jean-Talon’s Market. The activity culminated with a picnic in a park.

We met at 11h00 in a park. François, our guide from Rencontre Sportive, introduced us to the history of Montreal’s Little Italy. We then walked to Quincaillerie Dante, an “incontournable” where you can buy every little kitchen gadget possible, like the pizzelle maker and tomato grinder useful to make tomato sauce in the fall. The store is owned by the Faita Family. Helena and her son Stefano welcome you behind the counter. Stefano and his mom are quite superstars in Quebec, as they appeared in numerous cooking shows on TV. Stefano has also written two cookbooks on Italian cuisine: Entre Cuisine et Quincaillerie and Entre cuisine et Bambini. The Quincaillerie Dante is half kitchen stuff and half hunting stuff. It’s like you get what you need to kill your supper and then you buy what you need to prepare it…. The Quincaillerie has it’s own cooking school, Mezza Luna, right next door. It is so popular that you have to be really patient in order to get a call to participate in any of the classes. The waiting list is often over a year but it is worth all the wait. I have had the chance of taking classes with both mother and son, but also with Martin Picard from the Pied de Cochon and Mustafa Rougaïbi from Restaurant La Colombe.

Next to Quincaillerie Dante, you have the Pizzeria Napoletana. People line up on weekends to get a chance to eat this authentic pizza from Napoli. We pursued our walk to Notre-Dame de la Défense church, which has quite an interesting history involving Mussolini and the catholic church…

Our next stop was Jean-Talon’s Market, the biggest outdoor market in North America. It operates year long, with indoor and outdoor merchants selling fresh produce and fine foods. It’s the mecca for foodies, you find everything, even a Cookbooks library: La Librairie Gourmande. At the Market, the participants were given 45 minutes to explore the different shops and booths, while the organizer bought the food for our picnic in the park after. As I had a dinner party that night, I took the time to buy all the ingredients I needed to prepare my dinner. I also stopped at La Dépense to eat some fresh vegetable bhajies and Acras de Morue (Cod fritters).

After our visit to the market, we went to Milano, a great place to buy fine italian food and specialty cheeses. As I was more craving for a coffee, I went to Caffe Italia next door, while the group went in Milano. The activity ended at the park where the guide organized a tasting of interesting food products from Quebec and Italy, including Italian wine and Quebec apple cider.

Photo Credit: Indigonat

A great activity with fun people! I would recommend it, if they do it again.

In the meantime, if you are looking for other dating activities for foodies, you can try Cookdating.ca in Montreal. It’s a culinary experience in which you learn how to cook from a professional chef and discover the pleasures of gastronomy in the company of other singles.

Sources and Credits:

Quincaillerie Dante – more info on this Tourism Montreal Post
You can buy Stefano Faita’s cookbooks at Librairie Gourmande in Jean-Talon’s Market, or you can order online on Archambault.ca
Pizzeria Napoletana
Caffe Italia – more info on this Montréal Buzz post
Milano – fine italian food market – location and recommandations on Praized
Marché Jean-Talon, the biggest indoor and outdoor market in North America
Librairie Gourmande – a cookbook store in Jean-Talon’s market where you will find Stefano Faita’s cookbooks
Rencontre Sportive – a “dating” site that offers sporting activities but also foodies events sometimes.
Cookdating - A culinary experience in which you learn how to cook from a professional chef and discover the pleasures of gastronomy in the company of other singles.