A pot of pure maple syrup bubbles over the campfire. When the candy thermometer hits the magic mark (about 114º C or 238º F), the cook pours the steaming syrup into snow-filled trenches, where it hisses and cools into a sticky maple candy ready to be twirled onto a twig. Along with sleigh rides, maple-grove hikes, cross-country skiing and live music, this maple taffy lollipop is a must-try on the Québec City, QC, region’s romantic “sugar-shack” tour — a trip back into three centuries of Quebec’s maple sugar culture.

At Érablière Le Chemin du Roy, a “sugar house” once famously owned by Montréal Canadian NHL hockey player Guy Lafleur, feast on an all-you-can-eat French-Canadian meal inside a historic shack built in 1925. Traditional sugar-shack fare harkens back to Quebec’s early peasant farmers, originators of hearty dishes such as pea soup, tourtière, buckwheat pancakes and sugar pie.

But it’s not all confectionary concoctions when it comes to French-Canadian cuisine. Québecois chefs lead the continent in regional cuisine celebrating the bounty of fresh, local ingredients — hundreds of varieties of artisan cheese, local cider and wine, farmed game, blueberries, maple-everything, spices and artisan-crafted chocolate. Lobsters are pulled from nearby waters.

The ultimate epicurean adventure in la belle province? The Charlevoix region, a short, picturesque drive from Québec City. La Route des Saveurs de Charlevoix, or the Flavour Trail, visits 21 food producers and 23 restaurants. The route is marked by orange wooden signs with a white chef’s toque. Expect food so fresh, the lamb on your plate was recently grazing just outside the window. Bon appetit!

www.quebecregion.com www.erabliere-cheminduroy.qc.ca www.quebecweb.com/tourisme/charlevoix/introang.html www.routedesaveurs.com