The Vachon Cakes Museum

Mention Quebec to people who know the city, and many will think instantly of the Chateau Frontenac. Others, again, will think of Vachon cakes!

Fancy a look around a cake factory? One of the most unlikely popular tourist attractions, open between April and October, is Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce near Quebec which used to be a bakery on by Rose-Anna Giroux and Arcade Vachon who despite having just $15 in the bank managed to raise a loan of $7,000 to buy a bakery in 1923; together with their son Redempteur they baked bread which Arcade loaded up into a horse-drawn buggy to sell in the surrounding areas. Production increased to include cakes in 1928; these were baked in the woodfired family oven and a multi-million dollar business was born! Their sales territory extended into Quebec city with its large growing population; the cakes were an instant hit and helped by the members of their large family and the increased production to the extent that they had to buy trucks for local delivery and even made deliveries further a field as far as Ontario and the Maritimes by train. In 1937 Arcade died but Rose-Anna, who had always been a major driving force in the company not only kept it going but expanded into a large factory and installed the most modern machinery; a far cry from the simple oven is that they had started with. The Second World War was a very profitable time for the company because of several military contracts; Rose-Anna retired in 1945 and sold the business to family members, before dying three years later. By 1970 the business employed 1200 people with their products being sold throughout most of Canada. The Jos. Lewis snack cake is now one of the most popular and tempting delicacies in the country, and it was named not after Joe Louis the boxer, but two of their many children, Joseph and Louis.

Opening dates: April to October.

An entry fee is charged.

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