Karina Awadalla and Bruno Dodaro are a very nice young couple who recently decided to go into business together, opening Forketta Épicerie Gourmet at 3589 Beaubien Street East in Rosemount.
This is a small storefront located directly across from College Rosemount and just a few doors down from Rosemount High School/Rosemount Technology Centre. There is a small counter with stools, allowing you to eat inside or you can take out. Options for catering and a personal chef are already gaining attention in the
A Love For The Kitchen
Karina was born and raised in Laval while Bruno has been there as well since the age of nine. Dating as far back to her days as a student at St. Paul Elementary School and Laurier Senior High School she had a passion for cooking. Eventually
“The initial dream began freshly at St. Pius X back in 2011, bursary in hand and ready to learn.. and cook,” Karina says, “Only after working in pastry and cake decorating and on the line in restaurants did I finally understand the difference between a passion and a hobby. Cooking is my life.”
Bouncing Back From Adversity
In October of 2014, Karina stumbled upon an opportunity to open up shop, on the condition of having a business partner who would overlook all else besides the food. That turned out to be a venture in Laval called Butcher’s Bite. “I thought this was perfect,” she said. “My dreams were coming true at the age of 21! After so much work, hardships and hustle the doors opened in March 2015. What a feeling of accomplishment! Down the line, there were even more challenging moments that tested me as a young woman, a professional chef and as a business owner. Luckily, by my side, since 2013 was Bruno. Eventually, the partnership began to crumble and this new business was no longer working out. I had to make a challenging and heart-wrenching decision. I put my health first and decided I could no longer continue in the environment with this partner,
A New Beginning at Forketta
Bruno was working in the family business, the appropriately named Bruno Driving School and had his mind set on taking courses in music management at Trebas. But he also loved to cook and did not want to see Karina give up on her dream so the next chapter began.
Karina boasts that Bruno brings his marketing and business knowledge, administrative skills and an exquisite talent for customer service. They found the location in Rosemount in the summer of 2018 and have not looked back since.
My Lunch Experience
I dropped by Forketta Épicerie Gourmet for lunch recently and was impressed to see the many clients coming in and out of the door. They have a creative menu of sandwiches, salads
They offer a variety of sandwiches, fresh salads of the day, ready-to-eat meals and a selection of homemade pastries. You can complete your combo sandwich with a choice of chip or muffin and drink or a daily salad and roasted potato
Each of the sandwiches
sweet jalapeno and mayo garlic confit. I added a side dish of quinoa. Served on a nice soft baguette, the sandwich was absolutely delicious. Ditto for the quinoa, which came with some veggies. For dessert I had a decadent oreo crumble bar with pecan, coconut, butterscotch and chocolate chip all blended in. “We just made the recipe up,” volunteered Bruno, as I signaled a big thumbs up.
The other sandwiches are: the Villeray (egg salad, chives and mayo with the option to also add Swiss cheese or ham and tomato on Portuguese bread ); Le Plateau (ham, Swiss cheese, tomatoes and Tarragon Mayo); Little Italy (eggplant, homemade tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmigiana): Le Rosemont ( pulled pork , cabbage house, BBQ
At Forketta, the style of cooking incorporates many different flavors from classic French, Italian, Middle Eastern and modern cuisine. Karina and Bruno aim to use locally grown Quebec products and meats and they like to create menus that showcase the best seasonal harvests. They also use locally grown produce and meats.