At Manioky Café, every dish tells the story of Haiti: from sandwiches named after historical figures like Toussaint Louverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines to bites inspired by family recipes. The Haitian drinks complete the experience: Cola Couronne, Prestige beer, or Rhum Barbancourt transport your taste buds to the heart of the Pearl of the Antilles, all without leaving Repentigny. Each bite also tells a family story and a long-held dream of co-owner Cynthia Élie.
Tuesday, August 26, 10 a.m. At this hour, the kitchen is usually buzzing with preparations, but on this day, instead of handling pots and pans, Élie sits down at a table to share her story. Seated in one of the chairs near the glass door, she lets her memories drift back: from a young age, she was already baking with her grandmother and mother. This love for sweets has carried over to the Manioky Café menu, where iconic desserts like the soft and fragrant rum cake or the rich and moist Tres Leches cake can be found. However, far beyond the recipes, they left her with gestures, a memory, and an identity her ancestors left her. "They're no longer here today," Élie says with a touch of sadness, as she tenderly remembers the two women. She particularly recalls the milk rice with anise and cinnamon flavours they used to concoct. "I've tried to make it so many times, but it can never be like theirs," she states.
From generations to modern traditions
Stepping through the door of Manioky Café is like entering another world, far beyond the plates. The colours and textures are eye-catching: wooden and straw furniture, tropical plants like the bird of paradise, and soothing pastel tones... Every detail exudes a gentle atmosphere and feels like traveling. Old trunks and a miniature airplane add subtle but present touches of adventure and escape. While a designer set the foundation, it was mainly the hands of Élie's family members that brought this space to life: her cousins painted, shaped the arches, and built the benches and the counter. The result? A place where collective creativity is felt around every corner, rooted in family ties while being open to the world.
Four generations of women are at the heart of the Manioky project: Élie, her mother, her grandmother, and her 20-year-old daughter, Maeva, who is the café's co-owner. As a child, Maeva had even drawn what she imagined the future café would look like, without even knowing if it would ever open. Today, that drawing is framed and sits on the fireplace in the very heart of the café. Élie walks over to show it to us. "She heard me talking with passion. She was seven or eight years old. I was so touched. I'm so happy I kept it."
To Élie, Manioky Café is a tribute to her mother's values and cuisine. It was her mother who not only inspired her to open a culinary establishment but also gave the café its name. The name Manioky—a combination of "manioc" and "turkey"—refers to the manioc bites stuffed with turkey that her mother used to cook. "She was avant-garde in her way of cooking," Élie emphasizes, highlighting her mother's creative spirit, which included spicing up traditional tourtière or transforming dishes from elsewhere, such as the chop suey. "Manioky" sums up the spirit of the place: a café where Haitian traditions are honoured while being adapted to a modern context.
The Manioky adventure
Behind the establishment's founding lies the patience of dough that is left to rise before being transformed into something nutritious. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Élie followed a completely different path, far from the kitchen. After years in the field of radiodiagnostics, management, and insurance, professional burnout forced her to stop for almost a year. "Unfortunately, it was a bad thing that brought about something good," she confides. It was then that she stumbled upon a space for rent in Repentigny named Chez Élie—it felt like a sign. The desire to open a café, which had been simmering in her mind for two decades, came to a full boil. Her motivation set ablaze, she decided to take the leap. "A week or two later, I made up my mind. I told the owner: 'OK, let's do it!' He believed in the project."
Embarking on this adventure was not easy. "It was quite a challenge!" Élie admits. She says she moved quickly. She invested her savings, used up her credit, and plunged into a mountain of paperwork and regulations, all while already deep in operations. "If it were just managing the food, it would be fine, but there's everything that comes with it," she summarizes. Luckily, her family was there to support her every step of the way: aunts, uncles, and cousins still lend a hand, whether in the kitchen, with customer service, or on social media. "All the generations come to help me. I am truly blessed," she says, her voice filled with gratitude.
"When you have a dream, you should never give up on it. I gave up on it several times. But in the end, today, I see that it was worth it," she continues. And thanks to its story, Manioky has become more than a cafe; it's a space where entrepreneurship and creativity meet.
Safeguarding Haitian Heritage
Vegetarian, poulet kreyol, and jerk chicken sandwiches sit alongside iconic Haitian dishes. The griot sandwich, named "Gen Bagay," is a nod that piques the curiosity of non-Creole speakers. The expression literally means "there's something," and this sandwich is one of the café's most popular, according to Élie.
But the dishes offered aren't limited to the classics. Élie wants to introduce and reintroduce almost-forgotten dishes, such as mayi-moulin. It's a mix of polenta, ground meat, and tomato sauce that resembles lasagna in its construction. "When I served this dish at a brunch at the café, no one knew what it was. That means even their parents didn't show them what it was. These are dishes that are being lost, which are part of our culture, our heritage," she asserts.
This is just one example that makes the culinary transmission Élie seeks through Manioky Café even more valuable.
"During special evenings, I'd like to bring back these recipes. Haitian cuisine is very rich and varied, but many people only know two or three dishes," she regrets. For her, culinary knowledge is being lost from generation to generation. "Here, young people don't cook. Everyone goes to 'fast food,' but there are dishes my mother used to make that, after her generation and maybe mine, won't be made anymore."
Understanding Haitian Cuisine
Each recipe is like a breadcrumb left on the path of memory. Among these memories, soupe joumou holds a special place. This fragrant orange dish, a symbol of victory and freedom, is linked to a history more than two centuries old: on January 1, 1804, Claire Heureuse, the wife of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, prepared it to celebrate newfound freedom after the revolution. Once reserved for colonizers, soupe joumou became a dish of resistance and celebration for the entire Haitian people. Even today, every January 1, it is prepared and shared in all Haitian homes. "Maybe at the end of this year, we'll open the café and make it," Élie says with a smile. In the meantime, she has created a lighter version that keeps the original's emblematic flavors while being easy to serve daily.
For her, cooking Haitian means understanding a blend of African, Taíno, French, and Arab cultures. The corn comes from the Taínos. Many recipes bear the mark of Africa, especially due to the use of tubers like yams. To illustrate her point, Élie mentions tomtom sauce kalalou (gombo), a fragrant dish from Jérémie, in southern Haiti, similar to fufu sauce graine, but which can also be made with breadfruit. "Knowing where what we eat comes from, what its roots are, is also a mission of the café," she concludes.
A cafe that inspires and unites
Beyond its recipes, it's its journey and determination that make Manioky Café an inspiring place, and Élie's story fuels the entrepreneurial spirit of many. "I often have women tell me, 'Ah, that inspires me to start something. When I hear your story, that you had given up the idea of opening something, and now it's been 20 years, it gives me hope.'"
The café thus becomes a space for exchange, a table for sharing. "We also have a part of our mission where we want to promote entrepreneurship in the community."
A few weeks ago, Manioky Café hosted its very first "skill swap". The idea was born around a table with another entrepreneur from the neighbourhood. Together, they were looking for a way to build bridges between communities and give women entrepreneurs a space to exchange. The concept? To exchange your expertise for 30 minutes, for example, and receive in return that of another participant.
The initiative brought together about ten women from various backgrounds. "It allowed for such beautiful exchanges," Élie recalls joyously. For her, this type of meeting is part of her establishment's mission: to make Manioky Café a third space, strong in its Afro-Caribbean roots but open to everyone, where mutual aid and sharing are at the heart of the experience. While Manioky Café is already a place for meeting and transmission, Élie doesn't plan to stop there.
Café by day, wine by night: future projects
What also gives her energy is the reaction of her customers, the feeling that they feel good as soon as they walk through the door. The clientele is a reflection of the café: diverse. Both Afro-Caribbean and "old stock" Quebecers frequent the establishment.
This notion of sharing, so dear to Élie, comes from the Sunday family meals. It's a tradition found in the Caribbean that dates back to the colonial era. "In the Caribbean, all families host a meal on Sundays. During the period of slavery, it was the only day of rest. Enslaved people would make a special meal for the occasion. And the whole family would come," she explains.
During her childhood, these Sundays were a way to maintain family and community ties. "My mother was very hospitable. At our house, she kept the clan together. There was always food for everyone, even for guests who arrived spontaneously."
Manioky Café also offers catering services and hosts events. Themed evenings for Black History Month have transported participants to Haiti, New Orleans, Trinidad, or Jamaica with a mix of music, costumes, and traditional dishes. After more than a year in operation, the café also hosts birthdays and graduation events and aims to develop its corporate side.
Élie is already imagining the next steps: transforming the daytime café into a nighttime wine bar. When the sun goes down, coffee cups are put away to make room for wine glasses. A cocktail menu, designed by a mixologist, will offer another way to travel, with rum, tropical fruits, and island notes. Later, she plans to offer wine workshops to demystify wine, which is often perceived as elitist.
In the greater future, Élie dreams even bigger: she would like to open other establishments in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and the United States, especially in Florida, where there is a large Haitian community. "That would be the dream within five years." Ultimately, whether around a sandwich, a cocktail, or a soupe joumou, Manioky Café, wherever it is, will always continue to represent the same thing: a cuisine that unites, transmits, and sends the tastebuds on a trip.
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