The commercial kitchen portion of the MRC Pontiac’s AgriSaveur project is now open for public use, and the other components of the project are moving forward as well.
The project incorporates three elements – the Shawville abattoir, a boutique to sell and market local goods at the facility and a commercial kitchen at a separate location across town on West Street.
MRC project manager Maryse Vallières-Murray, who has been working on the project in collaboration with MRC economic development commissioner for agriculture Shanna Armstrong, said that they are soft-launching the kitchen opening to work out any kinks in the processes. She explained that they had originally wanted to have an online booking platform for the kitchen, but decided to go in a different direction after consulting with users.
“At first we wanted to have a platform online and people could just reserve directly there, but projects are so different and needs are different,” she said. “So what we will do now is, people can call us here and we will organize a meeting with them at the kitchen so they can see the equipment and talk to us about their needs.”
Bookings can be made by visiting the website agrisaveurpontiac.ca or by emailing info@agrisaveurpontiac.ca.
The kitchen has a wide variety of equipment available, including meat slicers and grinders, convection ovens and a vacuum sealer.
According to a pamphlet distributed to local producers, the rates for the kitchen vary, from $120 for four hours or $200 for eight hours. The commercial smoker can be rented for $120 per 24 hours (wood and propane included). The commercial freeze-dryer is $75 per 24 hours, with bags and oxygen absorbers available for purchase.
In an interview earlier this year, Vallières-Murray explained that while they hoped to open the kitchen earlier, there was a delay in sorting out the electrical situation, as they submitted a request to Hydro-Quebec in May last year and didn’t get hooked up until November. The MRC signed a lease for the property for Apr. 1, 2025, at $2,500/month from owner Bill Telford.
She said that the MRC was hoping to have a grand opening once the weather becomes warmer.
Vallières-Murray said that they recently had a visit from an abattoir consultant to assist with preparations for the abattoir’s MAPAQ inspection and first kill day, which she said went well. Extensive renovation work has been done to give the floors a non-slip surface, among other upgrades.
“We have fine tuning to do, but not much. The big work is done,” she said.
She added that the co-op of local producers set to operate the facility has signed the emphyteutic agreement (similar to a lease) with the MRC for the facility, requiring the co-op to handle all maintenance and upkeep, with no rent. At the end of the 30-year period, all assets will belong to the MRC.
“It’s been a long process,” she said. “I think people underestimate the work that needs to be done to open a facility like that.”
Vallières-Murray directed any inquiries about the abattoir to the co-operative. THE EQUITY reached out to the co-operative, but did not receive a response in time for print.
The MRC put up $1.6 million from various funding envelopes to purchase the abattoir facility in May 2024 after the previous operation went bankrupt. The original abattoir project was launched in 2018, costing $3.4 million. According to THE EQUITY’s reporting at the time, nearly $900,000 of this amount was put up by the owners, and the rest came from various loans and government grants.
