How A Former Math Teacher Became The Queen Of Grown-In-Quebec Figs

Anne-Marie Proulx didn’t set out to become a farmer, a chef or a marketer, but this former math teacher is basically all three—and she’s only going to get busier. As the co-owner of La Vallée du Moulin, Quebec’s first fig farm, she’s cultivating thousands of these Mediterranean gems, and rewriting the rules of what’s possible.

That’s right: figs. These delicate fruits are thriving in the village of Melbourne in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, thanks to three greenhouses heated by seven different forms of off-grid energy, from solar to heat pumps. It helps that Anne-Marie’s father, Serge Proulx, is a retired hydroelectric engineer with a passion for ambitious projects. He almost didn’t start farming because the tomatoes, cucumbers and apples more commonly grown in southern Quebec didn’t seem like enough of a challenge. They were too ordinary, too easy. But inspiration struck when he bit into a fresh fig, straight from the tree, on a 2016 visit to southern France. Eating the juicy, succulent fruit, he knew he had found his crop.

(Provided by Tourisme Cantons-de-l'Est)

Visitors snacking on La Vallée du Moulin’s figs will soon see why Serge Proulx had his epiphany. These are nothing like the withered, travel-battered fruit you see selling for a fortune at the grocery store. Anne-Marie and her three siblings took their father’s ambitious plans and ran with them, turning La Vallée du Moulin into a hub for sustainability. They have nurtured 36 varieties and work with figs of every size, shape and colour imaginable. Their eco-friendly greenhouses shelter 6,000 organic trees, mimicking the Mediterranean conditions that allow them to thrive. (Figs aren’t cold hardy and can’t handle Canadian winters.) Anne-Marie says that the greenhouses function like laboratories, constantly monitoring temperature, humidity and light to optimize the trees’ health. There’s no blueprint for what they’re doing, but the Proulxs have had tremendous success, harvesting approximately 500 kilograms of figs in 2024. However, their biggest challenge isn’t agricultural but educational. 

(Photo: Vanessa Chiasson)

When the farm opened to the public in 2023, local residents weren’t sure what to make of it. Chefs and foodies from Montreal and further afield were soon calling, but not everyone shared the family’s vision. “We were considered strange to go into fig production in Quebec,” says Proulx. So part of her job is convincing the public that their fresh figs are nothing like the ones plaguing grocery stores. The cost is higher than imports—$9.95 for 200 g or $22.75 for 600 g, vs $8 for 454 g at Loblaws—but the freshness and taste are unparalleled. Currently, the figs are available for sale from La Vallée, as well as a dozen local food shops, but the goal is to expand into larger farmers’ markets soon. 

Anne Marie is up for the challenge. “In Quebec, the fig is not well known. People think they don’t like figs but here it’s different!” 

As a result, Anne-Marie has become a teacher once more, educating customers: Figs have diverse flavours and textures, and range in sweetness. Some are tart and taste a bit like a green apple while others are rich and jammy, like ripe berries. Some varieties are quite firm and hold up well to grilling and slicing up for sandwiches, while others are soft and delicate and best enjoyed on their own, as part of a cheeseboard, or dipped in chocolate. The 225-acre farm welcomes seasonal visitors for tours that include a visit to the greenhouse, a walk to the watermill (which Serge built to generate hydroelectricity), stunning views of the Rivière au Saumon and a glimpse of their other projects (including maple syrup production, beekeeping and experimental crops of other unexpected fruits, such as quince and yuzu).

In the waste-not, want-not spirit of the farm, any figs that aren’t quite hitting the mark appearance-wise are transformed, becoming syrups, spreads, sauces and special mocktails. “The ugly ones aren’t any less tasty, right?” says Proulx. “It doesn’t matter. We use them, we transform them.” 

However, the biggest transformation isn’t in the figs. It’s in the people who taste them. One bite turns skeptics into enthusiasts, and thanks to Proulx and her family, figs are no longer a curiosity—they’re a revelation!

Anne-Marie (right) with the Proulx family. (Provided by Tourisme Cantons-de-l'Est)

How to buy and use figs

• Ripe figs are pliant but never mushy or wrinkled. They should always smell fresh and sweet, never sour or fermented.
• Figs last up to a week in your fridge, three to four days on your counter, and at least six months in your freezer. They need room to breathe in the fridge—they shouldn’t touch one another—and a cardboard container is best because it will absorb any extra moisture. A plastic bag will protect them from the odours of the other foods.
• You don’t have to peel a fig. However, if you’re making jam or other sauces, you will want to remove the skin.
• Figs are delicious raw, but you can cook them. Try them sliced, pan-fried until caramelized, and then layered on a toasted baguette along with some good brie.
• Common fig varieties include Black Mission (which has deep purple skin and an earthy, smokey flavour), Calimyrna (also known as the Turkish fig, it has green-gold skin and a nutty flavour), and the Adriatic (with its pale skin, it’s often nicknamed “the white fig” or the “candy-striped fig” and boasts an extra sweet flavour).

Learn more about growing figs in Canada at canadianfigs.ca