Sauce-loving Quebecers fear worst after St-Hubert sold to Swiss Chalet

St-Hubert restaurants hold a special place in the hearts of Quebec residents.

The chain serves up comfort food staples like rotisserie chicken, fries, coleslaw and, of course, its famous sauce. You might compare it to Swiss Chalet. Although, if you're in Quebec, you wouldn't — because that would undoubtedly ruffle some feathers.

So when news broke on Thursday that the St-Hubert chain had been bought up by Cara, the owner of Swiss Chalet, reaction in Quebec was swift.

"I think Quebecers are taken by surprise. There's a huge emotional reaction," Allison Van Rassel tells As It Happens host Carol Off. "People are really scared that they're going to see the recipes that they love so much disappear."

Van Rassel is a food blogger based in Quebec City, but she used to live in Toronto and has sampled the bird at Swiss Chalet. She says there is no comparison.

"[I'm] definitely a St-Hubert chicken dinner person," Van Rassel concedes. "There's an emotional attachment to St-Hubert barbecue. It's a love brand basically, here in the province."


Van Rassel echoes the overwhelming sentiment online, insisting that St-Hubert has superior sauce.

"I think there's too much nutmeg and cinnamon in Swiss Chalet's sauce," Van Rassel argues. "[With] St-Hubert, the success definitely is in the sauce. It's all about the comfort that comes from enjoying that very sweet, very salty, very bad-for-your-health sauce."