POUTINE

Poutine consists of French fries and cheese curds topped with a warm brown gravy made from beef and chicken stock. It emerged in the late 1950s in the Centre-du-Québec region, though its exact origins are disputed with multiple claims about who invented it. Initially, it was mocked as a reflection of Quebec society, but it later became a beloved symbol of Québécois culture and the province. Poutine is strongly associated with Quebec cuisine and has gained popularity throughout Canada.

Each year, poutine festivals are held in Montreal, Quebec City, and Drummondville, as well as in Toronto, Ottawa, New Hampshire, and Chicago. While it is often called Canada's national dish, some critics contend that this label constitutes cultural appropriation of the Québécois or Quebec's provincial identity. Many different versions of the original recipe are popular, prompting some to suggest that poutine has evolved into a distinct category of dish, akin to sandwiches or dumplings.

Crispy golden fries topped with rich beef gravy and fresh cheese curds, highlighting a popular version of poutine found beyond Quebec.

History

Origins

The dish originated in the Centre-du-Québec region during the late 1950s. Multiple restaurants in the area claim to have invented the dish, but there is no agreement on its true origin.

Le Lutin qui rit, Warwick – Restaurateur Fernand Lachance of Le Café Idéal (later known as Le Lutin qui rit is reputed to have exclaimed in 1957, "ça va faire une maudite poutine!" (English: "It will make a damn mess!") when a regular customer requested cheese curds be added to a take-out bag of french fries. The dish "poutine" was listed on the restaurant's menu in 1957.Lachance served it on a plate and began adding hot gravy in 1962 to keep it warm.

Le Roy Jucep, Drummondville – This drive-in served french fries with gravy, to which customers occasionally added cheese curds. Owner Jean-Paul Roy began offering this combination in 1958 and officially included it on the menu in 1964 as "fromage-patate-sauce". The name was deemed too long, so it was later abbreviated to poutine, inspired by a cook nicknamed "Ti-Pout" and a slang term for "pudding". The restaurant displays a copyright registration certificate from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, indicating that Roy invented poutine.

La Petite Vache, Princeville – Customers began combining cheese curds with their fries, leading to this mix being added to the menu. One variation included gravy and was named the "Mixte". As per Canadian food researcher Sylvain Charlebois, while Warwick is considered the birthplace of poutine, Drummondville's Jean-Paul Roy is acknowledged as the actual inventor since Le Roy Jucep was the first to serve poutine with all three components together in 1964. The Oxford Companion to Cheese presents another viewpoint, suggesting that the true innovators were the customers who decided to add cheese curds to their fries.

Development

Poutine was eaten in small "greasy spoon" diners (known in Quebec as cantines or casse-croûtes), pubs, roadside chip trucks (referred to as cabanes à patates, meaning "potato shacks"), and in ice hockey arenas. For many years, it was a rural snack in Quebec's dairy region, due to the limited freshness of cheddar cheese curds. In 1969, Ashton Leblond introduced poutine to Quebec City through his food truck (which later became the Chez Ashton fast-food chain). In the early 1970s, La Banquise started serving poutine in Montreal, followed by Burger King in 1983. Subsequent establishments used lower-quality cheese, damaging the dish's reputation. Poutine was often viewed as an unsophisticated rural creation or unhealthy junk food meant for consumption after a night of drinking.

Montreal chefs used to make poutine for their staff but kept it off their menus. In the 1990s, attempts were made to elevate the dish with baked potatoes and duck stock. In November 2001, Martin Picard of the bistro Au Pied de Cochon introduced a foie gras poutine that was praised by diners and food critics. This inspired chefs in Toronto and Vancouver to add poutine to upscale menus. Chef Mark McEwan offered lobster poutine at his Bymark restaurant, and chef Jamie Kennedy served braised beef poutine at his own restaurant. Over the next decade, poutine gained widespread acceptance and popularity across various dining establishments, from high-end restaurants to fast food, throughout Canada and internationally. In the early 2010s, poutine's popularity surged, leading to a boom of poutineries in cities like Toronto. This trend sparked stories linking poutine with romance and events such as the IBM Watson Cognitive Cooking Poutine Event, where the computer created innovative poutine recipes tailored to the tastes of Toronto and Montreal.

Recipe

The traditional recipe for poutine consists of:

French fries: These are usually of medium thickness and fried (sometimes twice) such that the inside stays soft, while the outside is crispy.

Cheese curds: Fresh cheese curds are used to give the desired texture. The curd size varies, as does the amount used.

Brown gravy: Traditionally, it is a light, thin gravy made from beef or chicken, with a slightly salty taste and a mild hint of pepper, or a sauce brune that blends chicken and beef stock. In Quebec, Ontario, and the Maritimes, poutine sauces (French: mélange à sauce poutine) can be found in grocery stores in jars, cans, or as powdered mix packets. Some grocery chains offer their own house-brand versions. Many stores and restaurants also offer vegetarian gravy options. To maintain the fries' texture, cheese curds and gravy are added just before serving. The hot gravy is usually poured over cheese curds at room temperature, warming them without completely melting. The thin gravy ensures all the fries are covered. The serving dish is typically de ep enough to act as a basket, helping the fries stay warm. Properly managing temperature, timing, and the order in which ingredients are added is essential to achieving the desired food textures, which is a key part of the poutine experience. Freshness and juiciness of the curds is essential. Air and moisture seep out of the curds over time, altering their acidity level. This causes proteins to lose their elasticity, and the curds to lose their complex texture and characteristic squeaky sound when chewed. The curds should be less than a day old, which requires proximity to a dairy. While Montreal is 60 kilometres (37 mi) from a cheese plant in Mirabel, restaurants and specialty cheese shops outside of dairy regions may be unable to sell enough curds to justify the expense of daily deliveries. Furthermore, Canadian food safety practices require curds to be refrigerated within 24 hours, which suppresses the properties of their texture. This has resulted in poutineries which specialize in the dish; busy poutineries may use 100 kilograms (220 lb) of curds per day. Poutineries which are too distant from dairies may make their own cheese curds on site, in batches every few hours, to ensure a fresh and steady supply.

Variations

The ingredients in poutine, such as texture, temperature, and viscosity, are varied and constantly evolving as the dish is eaten, making it a meal of dynamic contrasts. The best poutines are distinguished by crispy fries, fresh curds, and a cohesive gravy. Even minor changes in ingredients or preparation—like the type of oil for frying, the source of the curds, or spices in the gravy—can lead to a unique poutine experience. Some recipes omit the cheese, but most Québécois would refer to such a dish as frite sauce (English: french fries with gravy), not poutine. If curds are unavailable, mozzarella cheese may be an acceptable substitute. Shredded mozzarella is often used in Saskatchewan. Sweet potato can be a healthier alternative to french fries, offering more dietary fiber and vitamins. Poutineries such as Montreal's La Banquise, renowned for their role in innovating and popularizing poutine, feature numerous poutine varieties on their menus. Many of these varieties are based on the traditional recipe, enhanced with meat toppings like sausage, chicken, bacon, brisket, or Montreal-style smoked meat, and the gravy is adjusted accordingly for balance. The Quebec City-based chain Chez Ashton is well-known for its poutine Galvaude (topped with chicken and green peas) and Dulton (featuring ground beef). New variations are regularly introduced, with pulled pork being popular around 2013, followed by Asian-fusion poutines a few years later. Montreal's diverse immigrant population has inspired many versions of the dish influenced by other cuisines, such as Haitian, Mexican, Portuguese, Indian, Japanese, Greek, Italian, and Lebanese. These poutines may differ significantly from the traditional recipe, replacing some or all ingredients but maintaining the dynamic contrasts of textures and temperatures with a crispy element, a dairy or dairy-like component, and a unifying sauce. Many variations on the original recipe are popular, leading some to suggest that poutine has become a new dish category in its own right, much like sandwiches, dumplings, soups, and flatbreads. Poutineries often offer limited-time promotional specials, such as a Thanksgiving poutine with turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. In anticipation of the legalization of cannabis in Canada, Montreal's Le Gras Dur served a "pot poutine" with a gravy that included hemp protein, hemp seeds, and hemp oil, accompanied by a joint-like roll of turkey, wild mushrooms, and arugula. Gourmet poutine with three-pepper sauce, merguez sausage, foie gras, or caviar and truffle can be found. This trend began in the 1990s and is attributed to David McMillan of Montreal's Joe Beef and Globe restaurants. Savory sauces like Moroccan harissa, lobster sauce, and red-wine veal jus have been used to complement artisanal cheeses and rich ingredients.

Chains such as Smoke's Poutinerie, New York Fries, McDonald's, Wendy's, A&W, KFC, Burger King, Harvey's, Mary Brown's, Arby's, and Wahlburgers restaurants also offer versions of poutine in Quebec and throughout Canada (though not always nationwide). Tim Hortons began selling poutine in 2018. Fast-food combo meals in Canada often allow for french fries to be "poutinized" by adding cheese curds and gravy, or substituting a poutine for a fries side.

Internationally

Poutine can be found in the northern border areas of the United States, such as New England and the broader Northeast, the Pacific Northwest, and the Upper Midwest. These areas offer different variations of the traditional dish, often using cheeses other than fresh curds, which are not commonly available in the US. In rural areas, a mixed fry might include cooked ground beef on top and is called a hamburger mix, though it is less common than a regular mix. In the Pacific Northwest, one version substitutes the gravy with chowder made with local seafood.

Disco fries, which are french fries usually topped with mozzarella cheese and brown gravy, became popular in New Jersey in the 1990s. They were named in the 1970s because they were a favorite among late-night diners who often came from dancing at disco clubs. The dish is also well-liked in New Orleans, including variations known as Cajun poutine.

Poutine has spread to the United Kingdom, Korea, and Russia, where it is called "Raspoutine". The first poutinerie in Paris, La Maison de la Poutine, opened in 2017 and quickly attracted attention from mainstream media and food enthusiasts. A similar dish called chips, cheese, and gravy, which consists of thick-cut chips covered in shredded Manx Cheddar cheese and topped with a thick beef gravy, is popular on the Isle of Man.

Cultural aspects

Poutine, a cultural symbol, was cherished as Quebec's favorite junk food before gaining popularity throughout Canada and the United States. It eventually caught the attention of food critics and culinary experts, challenging its reputation as mere junk food. Food critic Jacob Richler remarked in 2012 that Canadian cuisine often resembles its European origins, except for poutine, which he deemed Canada's most renowned culinary invention. In May 2014, "poutine" was added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary of the English language.

In 2007, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation announced the results of an online survey on the greatest Canadian inventions, where poutine ranked 10th. Maclean's 2017 survey of "favorite iconic Canadian food" placed poutine first with 21% of respondents, surpassing maple syrup at 14%. By 2011, media reported April 11 as National Poutine Day.

In March 2016, poutine was served at the White House during the first state dinner hosted by President Barack Obama and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Poutine has been a highlight of Canada Day celebrations in Trafalgar Square in London, England, for several years, and served as a comfort food for the local community after the 2013 Lac-Mégantic rail disaster. It was also served at the inaugural Canadian Comedy Awards.

The first poutine festival took place in Warwick, Quebec, in 1993. This annual event grew to become Canada's largest cheese festival. In 2014, it was relocated to the larger town of Victoriaville. Montreal has hosted La Poutine Week, an annual festival, food tour, and competition held from February 1–7, since 2013. It expanded across Canada and internationally, and by 2021 had become the largest poutine festival in the world, with over 700 restaurants serving more than 350,000 poutines. Le Grand Poutinefest is a poutine festival founded in 2015 which tours cities and towns in Quebec, operating most weekends from April to September. Poutine festivals are also held in Drummondville (since 2008), Ottawa-Gatineau, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Moncton, Quebec City, and Sherbrooke. In the US, major festivals have been held in Chicago, Illinois, Manchester, New Hampshire, Knoxville, Tennessee, Portland, Maine, Burlington, Vermont, and in Rhode Island.

Since 2010, the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFCE) has organized a world poutine-eating championship sponsored by Toronto-based chain Smoke's Poutinerie. There was criticism that the inaugural contest was held outside of Quebec and excluded Québécois. The IFCE stated that Montreal poutineries had not shown interest in hosting the competition. Regulations for contests in Quebec make it challenging to include the province, which is often absent from national contests. Smoke's has since sponsored a cross-Canada poutine eating tour. In 2011, chef Chuck Hughes won on Iron Chef America (episode 2 of season 9) by defeating Bobby Flay with a dish of lobster poutine.

Jones Soda Co., originally a Canadian company now based in the US, created a poutine-flavored limited-edition soft drink in 2013, which gained international pop culture attention. Bacon-poutine was one of four flavors selected as a finalist in the 2014 Lay's Canada Do Us A Flavour potato chip contest. Though it did not win, Lay's later introduced a bacon-poutine variety in its Canada entry for the World Flavourites. Loblaws' President's Choice and Ruffles brands also offer poutine-flavoured potato chips in Canada. Giapos Ice Cream of New Zealand has served a "poutine ice cream" of oolong matcha tea, ice cream, and caramel sauce over hand-cut fries since 2017. In a 2018 promotional campaign for the film Crazy Rich Asians, "the world's richest poutine" was created with wagyu steak, lobster, truffles, shiitake and chanterelle mushrooms, edible orchids, and gold flakes, priced just under $450.

Joel Edmundson, of the 2018–19 National Hockey League champion team St. Louis Blues, enjoyed poutine from the Stanley Cup during celebrations attended by over 4,000 fans in his hometown of Brandon, Manitoba. Mathieu Joseph, a Chambly, Quebec, native who won the Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021, also enjoyed poutine from the Cup during a celebration in 2021.