Tourists often say they would like to be able to buy Gaspesian products after they've returned home. And discovering these products where they are prepared can help build ties that go beyond mere commercial relations.

"I've had the privilege of tasting your salmon. Congratulations, it's delicious!"; "I recently discovered your excellent product! I'd like to share it with friends living in Québec City." At Percé's Fumoir Monsieur Émile, Cathy Poirier says it's vacationers who promote the product during the off-season: "Once they get back home, people ask for more." For the company—which opened its doors four years ago—it's clear that word of mouth makes distribution easier after the vacation is over.

You don't just eat that souvenir you've brought home... you savour it. Just think how often you've brought home some fish, a jar of jam or a bit of cheese, tucked away in your luggage? And how often you've tried to find those products in your neighbourhood to recreate the atmosphere of your seaside holiday by adding some Gaspesian flavour to your plate?

There are many ways for tastes to travel. For instance, it's amusing to hear that in the middle of spring, small shipments of lobster leave the Gaspé... by bus! Two years ago, Les Producteurs de homards 1998 inc. decided to develop a retail market to improve the profit margins of the harvesters who together own the company. Consumers can place their orders on the company Web site, and their lobster will be delivered to them within 48 hours anywhere in Québec and Ontario. The company says it wants to establish direct contact between client and harvester, which guarantees perfect traceability from sea to plate. O'Neil Cloutier, plant manager, says their live lobster is good, but their cooked lobster is out of this world! "Our cooking method just can't be reproduced at home."

The company expects to sell 15,000 pounds of lobster in 2010 using this new business model. In the fall, fish lovers will be able to order halibut, cod and turbot in the same way, allowing them to stock up on frozen fish for their winter provisions. Gaspé Peninsula products have long been world travellers. Countless tonnes of salmon—and even more tonnes of cod—have left the region in cured, brined, canned or frozen form over the years.

Roch Lelièvre, proprietor of Lelièvre, Lelièvre et Lemoignan, a company that processes salt cod, tells us that despite the drastic drop in cod stocks and harvests since the 1990s, cod continues to delight connoisseurs thousands of kilometres from the Peninsula. Gadus macrocephalus, a Pacific cod harvested in Alaskan waters is salt cured in the Gaspé and shipped to Italy, where it is served as a delicacy at Christmas and Easter.

Lelièvre, Lelièvre et Lemoignan together with a coalition of three other Gaspé Peninsula companies also ship salt cod to the Puerto Rico market. "And because of the moratorium, we can also promote other fish and make the most of their by-products. Take herring for example, the roe is removed and sold exclusively in Japan, then the fish is salted, cut into filets and sold in New York—in the Bronx—where immigrants from the Caribbean and Korea snap them up," points out Roch Lelièvre. Each culture prepares these fish according to its own culinary traditions.

Some products of the land are world travellers as well

When he set up his business in the mid 1990s, Sylvain Tapp knew perfectly well that the Gaspé Peninsula market alone would not be able to absorb all his sauerkraut: "Today, barely one of the 45 tonnes we produce is eaten in the Gaspé, primarily in its restaurants." So Les Produits Tapp finds its markets elsewhere. The company has clients in Québec, the Maritimes, Ontario and as far afield as British Columbia. "For some markets, I've chosen to join forces with other producers, allowing those companies to put their labels on my product; it's easier that way."

Like many other entrepreneurs, Sylvain Tapp has taken countless opportunities over the years to meet his clients: markets, food fairs, grocery store sampling sessions... and he continues to do so.

Consumers—constantly bombarded by innovative food products—need to be reminded that the company is present on the market. When he describes a dish, for instance a platter combining his sauerkraut with Atkins smoked mackerel drizzled with roasted almond oil and served with apples or grapes, it's an irresistible invitation to "Savour the Gaspé".

Organic tomatoes from Serres Jardins-Nature, mushrooms from Gaspésie Sauvage, honeys from Rucher des Framboisiers... and so many other savoury delights remind us that Gaspesian know-how recognises no borders. More than ever, its artisans create memories and flavours that leave a lasting impression on the taste buds!