When it comes to poutine, Canada’s national dish, two things are absolutely certain: one, it was invented in Quebec, and two, it’s undeniably tasty.
Everything else is sort of greasy.
The good kind of greasy: that perfectly executed trifecta of cheese curds, fries, and gravy.
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Considering poutine is so iconic in Canada, its history is shrouded in a bit of controversy as two Quebec casse-croûtes (snack bars) hold claims to inventing it.
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Let’s start chronologically to avoid any favouritism to either claim.
The Warwick claim
Legend has it that poutine was first invented in the town of Warwick in 1957 (about 155 km northeast of Montreal).
A now-closed snack bar called Café Ideal (later renamed Le Lutin Qui Rit) welcomed regular customer Eddy Lainesse who asked his server to add cheese curds on top of his fries. At the time (and still common in Quebec), fries were served in a brown paper bag, leading owner Fernand Lachance to remark, “ça va faire une maudite poutine,” translated to: “that’s going to make a damn mess.”
Fernand Lachance (left) and Eddy Lainess (right) | Café Ideal in 1957 (via: La Chance.org)
Once word got around at Café Ideal that a simple off-menu item tasted so good, other customers began to order cheese curds and fries. However, customers started complaining that the cheese-fry hybrid would get cold too quickly, Lachance added ladles of hot gravy over the dish to keep the plate warm and voilà, the poutine was allegedly born.
The casse-croûte began serving it on plates to avoid making such a mess (poutine) and in 1957, the tasty trifecta went for a smooth 35 cents.
The Drummondville claim
The other origin story takes place about 45 minutes outside of Warwick, closer to Montreal, in a town called Drummondville.
Jean-Paul Roy says he invented the poutine in 1964 at his restaurant Le Roy Jucep, which is still open today.
Roy’s claim goes a bit further as he has trademarked the term “poutine” with an official plaque hanging at the front of the restaurant from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.
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In a phone call with Daily Hive, Le Roy Jucep says an out-of-towner came into the restaurant and asked a waitress to throw fresh cheese curds — which were widely available in the popular dairy-rich region of Drummondville — onto a plate of fries and gravy.
Le Roy Jucep says the dish was something that “simply caught on” and they made it an official menu item in 1965.
Le Roy Jucep’s current owner, the third since Mr. Roy, says nobody will ever know who the first person was to “put cheese, fries, and gravy all on the same plate. But the first restaurant to actually write out ‘poutine’ on a menu, is for sure us.”
So there you have it, folks. The poutine history is not only covered in gravy but also mystery. And to be honest? We don’t really care who invented it, we’re just glad they did.
Whoever it was.
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