Our Story

Since 1982, Gourmet du Village have been creating award winning recipes and artisan blends in the small village of Morin-Heights, located in the Laurentians, a land of lakes and mountains an hours drive north of Montreal Quebec, Canada.

At Gourmet du Village, we make it easy to make homemade.  We add the taste to the basics in our customer’s pantry or fridge with our easy to make recipes and products to share with family and friends.

Mike & Linda Tott started Gourmet du Village as hobby in the fall of 1982, it was actually called “Pot Pourri’ village that first season of selling from a cart in Place Bonaventure, Montreal.

Their son Alex was just 2 and daughter Ashley was a newborn. Mike combined his talents for design in the advertising industry with Linda wishing to do something more while at home with the new family, she went back to her love of dressmaking.

Mikes marketing influence soon took over and the pair started to print their own fabrics and create little bags filled with Herb & Spice blends.

Unique packaging combined with the finest quality was and remains a cornerstone of their endeavours.

They gave their hobby the name of ‘Gourmet Village’ two bilingual words understood in both French and English as their home was and is located in Quebec the French speaking heart of Canada.

The business grew as they participated in more and more craft shows and Farmers Markets, creating new tastes and products to meet the growing demand.

At first their babysitters were enrolled to help with putting spices into little bags to be packaged as ‘Mulling Spices’ their very first recipe, then their cleaning lady joined them as a full time employee, then summer students all from their home Village of Morin Heights and so the story went on and a cottage industry was born.

The company has always believed in marketing and getting exposure for their products, from Farmers Markets to Consumer Craft shows to Trade shows.

Some of their displays have been quite spectacular winning awards along the way, but always meeting with consumers and buyers of all kinds, sampling, tasting and sharing their love of food.

From their very first Mulling Spice recipe in 1982, they have constantly added new products and recipes to share.

Today Gourmet is  a go to brand for Home Entertaining offering everything from Dip Mixes, Seasonings, Rubs, toppings for Baked Brie, Savory Jellies, an extensive line of Gourmet Hot Chocolates, Beverages for every occasion, Accessories and Gift Sets.

Linda retired from the company in 2009 up until then she had been responsible for creating the blends of Herbs & Spices and the recipes to go with them,  during her time, they published their first book of Linda’s recipes. Now her daughter Ashley, Mike and a team at Gourmet ensure the same quality and tradition continue.

Constantly creating new products, designing the packaging and sharing them with customers has been the biggest joy for The Village. As industry leaders in easy to make homemade gourmet recipe and treats, it is no surprise that their blends are award winning.

The most prestigious Award to date being the SOFI from the NASFT Specialty Food Association in New York in 2013.

The Grange: their flagship retail boutique, café and restaurant operational between 2012- 2017 was to focus on  recipes and products, to learn more about the business to share with their customers.

In 2018, Gourmet du Village was acquired by the Reich family. The new owners David, Jeff and Gregory Reich bring with them combined over 50 years’ experience in the specialty food business.  They own and run a family business based out of Chicago manufacturing and selling gourmet gifts to most major retailers in all classes of trade.

The Reich family wish to maintain the same level of quality and service customers have come to know and trust from Gourmet du Village, working with the team in ‘THE VILLAGE’ while growing the business and developing new opportunities.

Ashley who grew up with the hobby/business and after graduating from the ITHQ ‘Insitute D’Hotelerie du Quebec as a chef joined the company in 2004, at first she worked in the warehouse, then became very involved in purchasing and planning, then Sales and Marketing and now leading the team in Morin Heights.

Today Ashley has taken the lead at the Village as General Manager / VP Sales.

Mike focus is now on the “Creative Vision” of the company, new products, marketing design and innovation.

Let us share our mission & vision going forward

Mission

We love to share our passion for food by creating new and innovative quality products, supported by our superior service and great “Village” attitude.
At Gourmet du Village, we make it easy to make homemade.  We add the taste to the basics in our customer’s pantry or fridge with our easy to make recipes and products to share with family and friends.

Vision

Our vision at Gourmet du Village is to grow our consumer awareness, and be recognized as a go to brand for home entertaining tastes and ideas. We also want to strengthen our commitment to simple, clean, quality ingredients.

Two generations of the Tott family, Mike & Ashley, now combining their talents and their love for the business along with the Reich family, a real Dream Team.