Atkins & Frères: the authentic flavour of the sea all year round
Brothers James and Charles Atkins, originally from the Estrie region, settled in Haute-Gaspésie in 1988 and founded their company in 1993. “Pleasure was our starting point and has remained our destination. Travellers beneath very beautiful skies, we arrived in Haute-Gaspésie, where a single landscape brought together our memories of sea and mountains. Our company springs from a deep-rooted family tradition of gastronomy, coupled with a great curiosity about culinary culture and everything associated with the pleasures of the table,” they explain.
James and Charles Atkins, founders
After nearly two decades of accomplishments in the beautiful but remote village of Mont-Louis, the brothers felt carried away by a wind of boldness that came with the spirit of the times. They have now passed the torch to the next generation, and chef Guillaume Thibault is the company’s new sole owner. Of French origin, Mr. Thibault first joined the company as an intern in 2008 while studying agri-food engineering in Brittany. After earning his MBA, he was invited to join the team permanently. He served as general manager for more than three years before buying the company in 2016, and in the meantime became a Canadian citizen.
Guillaume Thibault, president
For him, as for the founding brothers, “connecting and talking with our devotees, as we love to do at the Mont-Louis counter, and offering products directly from our workshop is a long-held dream that continues to motivate the team working year-round to create exceptional products.”
The artisans of Mont-Louis are taking their mission of contributing to the convivial pleasures of good food even further by sharing it directly with loyal customers and various connoisseurs, past and present, as well as those who discover and embrace their products each year. “We can now serve customers directly from our home to yours, or through a short detour to one of our preferred partners, who share our commitment to warm, personal relationships with fellow enthusiasts,” says Isabelle Lafrenière, manager at the head office.
One of the great secrets behind the success and quality of the products is the smoking process. As in various related trades, it is both an art and a technique. Even when working from the same basic principles and broadly similar technology, every artisan and company contributes a distinctive touch, making its products as individual as Scotch whiskies, cured meats, wines or cheeses from different producers.
At Atkins & Frères, distinctive production standards underpin the promise to create smoked fish and seafood of the same quality the team would want to serve family and friends at its own table. Now and always, the company strives to work exactly according to the vision and aspirations on which it was founded, with an unmistakably culinary approach.
“Our expertise is devoted to the convivial pleasures of good food: the desire to please, entice and amaze; an unpretentious but unmistakable invitation to indulgence, good times and Rabelaisian feasting. That is what drives us,” says Guillaume Thibault.
Atkins & Frères has received the Mérite national des pêches et de l’aquaculture, the Mérite national de la restauration et de l’alimentation and the Prix Renaud-Cyr, which recognizes food professionals for their outstanding contribution to Québec’s gastronomic culture.
There is no need to travel to Mont-Louis to savour Atkins & Frères products. They are also available at Délices de la mer shops on rue Mont-Royal and at Marché Jean-Talon in Montréal, at Grand Marché in Québec, and in Boucherville. The company also takes part in occasional regional events to showcase its products and win over new devotees. Its website presents the range attractively, along with recipes that make the mouth water at a glance. Because Atkins & Frères sells only fresh or frozen products, online ordering is not currently available.
The company’s management wishes to acknowledge the valuable support of Investissement Québec’s regional office, which made this business-succession project possible. It enabled a young entrepreneur to demonstrate his talent while safeguarding around 20 good permanent jobs in the Mont-Louis community in Haute-Gaspésie.
It is also worth noting that the seafood used in the company’s products comes primarily from the region, or at least from Québec and Canada. The salmon, for example, comes from Nouveau-Brunswick. “We value the proximity, freshness and ability to offer a 100% Canadian product,” says Guillaume Thibault.
Atkins & frères
atkinsetfreres.com
1, rue Chanoine-Richard
Mont-Louis (Québec) G0E 1T0
418 797-5059