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DIY Disney Food: Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup from Le Cellier

Every month, our resident Chef BigFatPanda puts together his amazing step-by-step, photo-filled posts where he and Chef Mickey show you their adventures in the kitchen cooking up Disney goodies! Today, Chef BigFatPanda’s DIY Disney Recipes brings us a classic…!

Hello! Chef BigFatPanda here! Are you ready for a new recipe?

So, I hope you heard by now that I have my own column here on the Disney Food Blog. In fact, you’re reading it right now. I am very excited and honored to have this home to share my passion of Disney and cooking with you. I hope you enjoy these recipes and my attempt at entertainment as much as I enjoy bringing it to you.

I realize it’s summer and soup might not initially sound like a good idea, but it’s one of my favorite things to eat. With all the hoopla over the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival preview, I remembered how much I loved that Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup over at Canada’s Le Cellier restaurant. As I re-imagined the velvety, creamy, cheesy goodness and bacon overtones, the whole summer soup argument was over. Soup won! 🙂

Le Cellier's Famous Cheddar Cheese Soup

CANADIAN CHEDDAR CHEESE SOUP (Le Cellier)

As usual, the recipe’s instructions will be bolded for easy reference should you wish to print this out and skip my banter.

Interesting fact: Disney has published at least 2 varying versions of this recipe. I made it years ago from a Disney cookbook (whose name escapes me), but this version is much easier and did, in fact, yield the same results. It’s exactly what you get when you walk up to that little festival booth with “Peachy Vigor” awaiting your small dose of cheddar ecstasy.

One other thing worth mentioning before we get serious: sometimes Hidden Mickeys show up when [Read more…]

Two Le Cellier Meals. One Day. It Can Be Done.

By AJ 36 Comments

And we did it. That’s right, folks, I actually booked two Le Cellier reservations in one day. I know you think I’m crazy, so just know that our two visits to the steakhouse on the same day were due to a crazy turn of events…we’ll leave it at that. 😉 Luckily, our two visits translate into a whole lot of food pics and info for the blog, so yay!

Atmosphere

Located in Epcot‘s Canada pavilion, Le Cellier means “The Cellar” in Canadian (ha ha. just kidding. it’s French), so walking into the restaurant means you’re gloriously shoved from the (often) hot, humid, sticky Florida sun into a cool, dark, stone room. While I realize this is probably not ideal for the Canadian Cast Members who work there and probably came to Florida to get a little sun, it’s great for us tourists who are baking all day in the parks!

Le Cellier Entryway

The rooms of Le Cellier Steakhouse are made up of stone-textured archways lit by dripping “candle” sconces — it really does feel like you’re dining in someone’s wine cellar. And the tiny size of the dining room means that reservations here are some of the hardest to get in Disney World (thus my two in one day debacle — if I wanted to eat at Le Cellier twice during our trip, I had to do it twice in one day as all other reservations were taken for the entire trip).

Le Cellier Dining Room

FYI: My mom’s favorite part of Le Cellier is that the tiny dining room is invisibly broken up into the Canadian provinces. Her favorite thing to do as soon as we’re seated is ask the server “where we’re sitting.” It’s always fun if we’re in Ontario, because then we can talk about how we’re from Buffalo. Anywho — on with the review!

Eats

It isn’t 100% clear to me what constitutes “Canadian cuisine.” I’m extremely [Read more…]

Le Cellier Cheddar Cheese Soup…to go?

By admin 17 Comments

Today the Food Blog has been shocked and excited to learn that maybe…just maybe…it’s possible to get Cheddar Cheese Soup from the Epcot World Showcase Canada Pavilion’s famous Le Cellier steakhouse without a coveted (and hard-to-get) advanced dining reservation! Guest poster James Chapman from the (soon to be live) DisneyfotoBlog.com shares his experience and photos.2012 NOTE: We have heard that the Soup to Go option has not been available for quite some time. 🙁

I first had the Canadian Cheese Soup at the 2008 Food & Wine Festival and absolutely loved it! I never would have thought that “cheese soup” would turn out to be one of my favorite foods from the event, along with the chocolate on chocolate dessert from the African cart, the Empanada de Queso from Chile, and Spanakopita from Greece.

Cheddar Cheese Soup, Breadsticks, and Moosehead Beet

Amy and I were fortunate to have two wonderful visits to the Food & Wine Festival last year: once during late September where the lines were 2-5 people deep, and then in early November on the last weekend of the event with the park slammed and the lines 10-20 people deep. We enjoyed both visits and had a great time tasting either a dinner, wine, or dessert from each of the 25 carts along the walkway. During our second visit in November, I had the opportunity to try the cheese soup from the Canadian cart, paired with a Moosehead beer, and both were delicious!

Having had the opportunity to try the cheese soup during the festival, I hoped that I would have another chance to taste it again during a future visit to Epcot. During our June 2009 visit, with Amy and Chloe enjoying a ride on Nemo at the Living Seas Pavilion, and while I was out taking photographs at the World Showcase, I decided to stop by the Le Cellier Steakhouse to see if I could purchase a “cup-to-go” for lunch!

Cheese Soup Thief

I wasn’t quite sure if I’d be successful as reservations are required, however, a kind host welcoming guests to the restaurant spoke to a waiter inside; within a few moments, I not only had a cup of cheese soup to go, but also three delectable bread sticks! I strolled up to the beer cart and purchased a Moosehead beer to go along with the soup and found a nearby quiet location to sit down and enjoy my feast.

Just to confirm, folks, you can order the soup any time of the year just by walking up to the podium at Le Cellier! There are no seasonal restrictions. Bon Appetit! –AJ

Epcot Food & Wine Festival Countdown

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The Epcot Food & Wine Festival is one of the premier foodie events in the nation, welcoming specialty chefs, wineries, breweries, and other food professionals from around the globe to showcase their talents in an extravaganza of cultural tastes and experiences.
Food and Wine Festival

No. Disney did not pay me to write that. But if they want to use the text, they can send me an email.

This year, the Food & Wine Festival is scheduled for September 25-November 8, 2009.
The festival will share tastes from several countries through over two dozen kiosks set up around Epcot’s World Showcase. Kiosks serve tapas-sized portions of regional specialties for between $2 and $5 each, and recommended wines and beers for pairing.

The event also features several special dining events and culinary programs; you’ll have to make reservations for these and pay for them separately and in advance. These will (likely) be announced sometime in July 2009 and be up for booking starting in August 2009 by calling 1-407-WDW-FEST. (All bookings are non-transferable and non-refundable.)

For those of us who can’t wait the three months until the 2009 agenda comes out (and for those of you who want to see an idea of what you might be able to expect from the festival this year), here’s the 2008 Epcot Food and Wine Festival Guide.

“Book Early” Series: Le Cellier

By admin 5 Comments

Le Cellier

Lots of folks just glide right by the large, wrought-iron gate leading to the beautiful replica of Vancouver’s Victoria Gardens in Epcot’s Canada Pavilion. They figure it’s just a garden, of which there are MANY in Disney World, so why stop to gawk when you could move on to Soarin’?

Breadsticks

Le Cellier, that’s why. French for “the cellar,” Le Cellier is the Canada Pavilion’s table-service steakhouse restaurant that’s known for its filet with mushroom risotto,

Cheddar Cheese Soup

cheddar cheese and Moosehead Beer soup, and delicious breads. Le Cellier has been on top for a while now, and quality and service haven’t seemed to suffer for the many years I’ve been dining there. It’s dark, cellar-like dining room provides plenty of cover for Disney big-wigs who have been rumored to hold business meetings on the premises.

Sausage and Corn Polenta

Le Cellier is part of our “Book Early” Series, because it’s practically impossible to get a dinner reservation here, and only slightly more possible to get a lunch reservation.

Filet with Mushroom Risotto

The place is booked solid six months in
advance, and, in my opinion, Le Cellier could easily pay an extra cast member full-time wages to turn away potential walk-in diners.

When you do get a seat, indulge in that Cheddar Cheese soup, the new sausage and corn appetizer, and the lovely filet mignon (though we like the good ol’ burger, served with black diamond cheddar, just as much). If you still have room

Burger and Fries

for dessert the maple creme brulee is wonderful, but I tend to grab the seasonal cobbler most of the time!

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DIY Disney Food: Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup from Le Cellier

Two Le Cellier Meals. One Day. It Can Be Done.

Atmosphere

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Le Cellier Cheddar Cheese Soup…to go?

Epcot Food & Wine Festival Countdown

“Book Early” Series: Le Cellier

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Tag: Canada

Atmosphere

Eats

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER EBOOKS

POLICIES & CREDITS