Our History

Most companies would have been happy with this success but Berthelet went one step further by developing a "retail" version of the product that consumers could buy and prepare at home.

Founded in 1960, Produits Alimentaires Berthelet rapidly became one of Canada's most important manufacturers of dehydrated food products. After humble beginnings selling products to Québec butcher shops, the company slowly grew and added products to their offering. In the mid-sixties, the young Berthelet brothers approached Mr. René Léger who owned and operated three very successful Rotisseries in Montreal under the St-Hubert Bar-B-Q name. This innovative and growing family restaurant chain was known for its classic Saturday night television ads (remember, those were the days when people would order chicken as a snack to be enjoyed after another Montreal Canadiens victory) and their legendary bar-b-q sauce.

Fortunately for Berthelet, the sauce was delicious but difficult to prepare and keep. With the help of a brilliant young food technician called Bryan Raines, they asked for permission to try to "match" the secret St-Hubert recipe for Mr. Léger. Being a smart businessman, he accepted and after a few unsuccessful attempts, came to the conclusion that the dehydrated version of his sauce was just as delicious as the original. However, it took hours less to prepare, was perfectly consistent from one batch to the next, was stable, inexpensive and incredibly easy to store and prepare.

Most companies would have been happy with this success but Berthelet went one step further by developing a "retail" version of the product that consumers could buy (9 cents at the time) and prepare at home. This was the first ever introduction of a restaurant brand in the Québec retail market and helped build what is to this day one of Québec strongest and most admired brands.

After that came Expo 67, the 1976 summer Olympics, the James Bay hydroelectric project and, as they say, the rest is history. In 1991, the Berthelet and Léger families formed and built a new production facility in Blainville to support the Laval plant that was running at maximum capacity. The new company, called Berthelet & Léger, focussed on the retail market and produced, among other products, those destined for the retail market as well as the dozens of St-Hubert restaurants across Québec, Ontario and the Maritimes.

In 2007, the Berthelet family sold the retail and restaurant business to the St-Hubert Group to focus exclusively on the Canadian food services market. The business is now managed by the third generation of the Berthelet family. Their continued growth is built on these simple foundations: quality products and unequaled service. Expect a few new chapters to be written soon as the company grows and explores new technologies and markets.