Poutine is a dish that is well known all over Canada and many are surprised to find that when they mention this dish in other countries they are met with confusion. Poutine originated in Quebec and has now become an iconic part of Canadian cuisine and seems to be important to Canadians everywhere. Poutine consists of crispy French fries topped with cheese curds and gravy. Only recently has poutine been introduced and gained popularity within other countries with many variations.

Within Canada it is common to see toppings such as pulled pork, bacon and many variations of smoked meats, but now, since the popularity of poutine has spiked within other cultures it has become common to see poutine in variations, such as in Vietnam where poutine is topped with kimchi and pulled pork, Mexico poutine is topped with queso, sour cream, guacamole and some sort of shredded meat and Greece, where they typically top their variation on poutine with feta, garlic and parsley.(Jadah, 2022)

Poutine originated in Quebec in the 1950’s and was commonly found within snack bars, it wasn’t until the 1990’s that poutine became popular across Canada. The origin story of poutine is highly debated and, there are several stories about how it came to exist. Some say that it was created by a customer who asked for cheese curds on his fries at a local restaurant while, another story suggests that it was invented by a restaurant owner by the name of  Jean-Paul Roy who claims he invented poutine in 1964 when he noticed that customers had been requesting cheese curds on top of his fries that he had served in a “special sauce”.(The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2019).

Jadah, T. (2022, February 24). Dished. Here's what poutines look like in different parts of the world. Retrieved from, https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/poutine-looks-across-world Published Online, December 2, The Canadian Encyclopedia. (2019, February 21). Poutine. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/history-of-poutine#:~:text=Itfirstappearedin1950s,ofQubcoiscuisineandculture. Jpatokal. (2006). Category:poutine. Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Poutine Mean Poutine. (2011). Mean poutine. Mean Poutine . Retrieved from https://www.meanpoutine.ca/