This cheese has a light orange rind and an ivory-coloured paste with a chalky centre which becomes smooth and even runny as it ripens. It features strong wood and farm aromas along with medium intensity flavours that are lactic, delicately tart and nutty.

Much of the territory where the Fromagerie du Détour is located today was once called “Seigneurie de Madawaska.” By giving this name to their product, the cheesemakers wanted to acknowledge the presence of the Maliseet, who populated the area long before the arrival of the first settlers. Madawaska is also the name of a region that includes part of the Lower St. Lawrence, New Brunswick and Maine. Magie de Madawaska is produced from the milk of a single Jersey cow herd.

Cheesemaker

The idea of opening a cheese dairy first occurred to Mario Quirion at the end of the 90’s. The Beauce native had always wanted to start his own business. When he suggested the idea of making cheese to his wife, Ginette Bégin, she was immediately on board. They quickly selected Ginette’s home region of Témiscouata for their enterprise. The couple had their heart set on developing the terroir of this region, which had not seen a cheese dairy for 35 years. Since they wanted to focus on cheesemaking rather than dairy farming, they wanted to be close to milk supplies. The facility began producing cheese in 1999.