3 things about poutines

1. No one’s entirely sure where poutine originated. The traditional story is that poutine originated in the 1950s in Warwick, Quebec, at a restaurant called Le Lutin qui rit. Upon being asked to add cheese curds to a customer’s fries, owner Fernand Lachance responded, “Ça va faire une maudite poutine,” or, “That’s going to make a dreadful mess.” However, there are several  other origin stories. It’s safe to say, though, that poutine has its origins mid-century somewhere in rural Quebec.

2. Poutine wasn’t always called poutine. At first, poutine was simple a 50-50 mixture of cheese curds and fries. When gravy got added somewhere along the way, it was called “mixte.” “Poutine” was adopted when large chains started selling the concoction—cheese, gravy, and all.

3. Newfoundland has its own variation of poutine. Many restaurants in Newfoundland serve chips, dressing, and gravy, with dressing (also known as stuffing) used in place of the cheese curds.