LARDER LAKE - Marjua Nadeau got her humble start in the kitchen peeling potatoes as a kid.
Today, she's serving up halal-based, home-cooked meals at the Larder Lake Ski Shill with her business, Maison des Papillons.
Nadeau told TimminsToday everything offered at her canteen, which is open the same hours of the ski hill, is made in-house.
“I told my daughter right now I'm not doing fast food. I'm doing good food. The appeal is for mostly anyone in the sense that with halal meat, there is no antibiotics, no hormones, and it's ethically sourced,” she said.
“I also have vegetarian options. For example, my chili is vegetarian. Everything is made in-house. It's a healthy alternative. It's all about the balance. Right now I tweaked it more or less to appeal to the canteen environment, but I’m hoping that with the audience that I have right now that I'll be able to branch out and expand my menu items.”
Opening a business is something Nadeau has wanted to do for as long as she can remember.
“They were looking for someone to run their canteen since September or so before the winter season. Knowing that I was going to be gone to Dubai for the months of November and December I didn’t reach out and thought maybe someone else would have taken the opportunity,” she said.
“But, when I got back, no one had, so I approached them, presented them with a business plan and a menu idea and they liked it.”
Nadeau, who has lived in Northern Ontario for about 25 years, said her passion is food.
“I started cooking when I was five. As most kids do, I guess I started with peeling potatoes. I lived on a hobby farm and we had animals growing up, so I know the process of how animals are kept and how to grow my own food. I can see the value that comes with food,” she said.
“We grew up, I don't want to say poor, but with some financial difficulties. So I have been told that I can make almost something out of nothing. I'm very innovative when it comes to food. I'm not afraid of experimenting. And I like to joke that because I have some friends from the Middle East and I grew up in Nova Scotia, east meets east.”
Since the ski hill is likely closing for the season next month, Nadeau said she’s hoping to find somewhere to set up during its off-season.
“My hope is I have enough interest that I can actually open something up further along, let's say in April, when skiing season is over — it may be even sooner considering the forecast — and that I would have support if I need assistance to, let's say, help purchase or help rent out a location,” she said.
Nadeau said her business’s mantra is to be a difference and make a difference.
“And by instilling positivity and great service, I'm hoping that it will. I'm hoping that I can change lives in some way,” she said.
For more information, visit the Larder Lake Ski Hill’s Facebook page here.
