Roland Ménard

NORTH HATLEY, QUEBEC

An active member of the culinary community for over forty years, Roland Ménard is a talented, self-taught chef. Ménard is recognized for bringing the 5-star inn, Manoir Hovey, to acclaim.

In 1972, at the age of 14, Chef Roland Ménard started his restaurant career in a steakhouse-type restaurant in Magog as a busboy. In a very short time, Ménard became a cook and worked there for 8 ½ years. In June 1981, Manoir Hovey hired him as a sous-chef, and he worked his way up to become an executive chef. Manor Hovey is a five-star inn located on Lake Massawippi; it is considered the jewel of the village of North Hatley in Quebec. He has been working at Manoir Hovey for over 30 years. Chef Roland Ménard and his team are working hard to refine their renewed French cuisine, with an emphasis on Quebec’s regional products.

“While I always enjoy a nice cup of tea after a long day of work in my kitchen, I am also intrigued by the ways in which it can be integrated into my cuisine. I particularly enjoy cooking with teas that have floral, spicy or smoky notes.”

A generous teacher, Ménard has trained many promising young cooks who have gone on to great careers in Quebec and overseas. Ménard’s number one priority has always been to ensure that the quality of food served at Hovey always meets and even exceeds the guests’ high expectations.

He was awarded top honors in the gastronomy category at the Quebec Grand Prix de Tourisme. The veteran also led Hovey’s table to achieve prestigious prizes like the maximum rating of 5 stars in all three categories (food, service and décor) from Voir and Debeur restaurant guides, CAA’s four Diamonds as well as the DiRoNa award (Distinguished Restaurants of North America). Recently, Wine Access, Canada’s Wine & Food Magazine, placed Hovey at the top 10 of the list on the Top 100 Canada’s Best Restaurants.

Chef Roland Ménard’s work extends beyond the Inn’s kitchen. He volunteers a lot of his limited free time to participate in fundraising efforts for various causes, such as the annual Gala for the Canadian Cancer Society.