It’s cheap, filling, tasty, and indulgent, but where did poutine, the iconic dish of Quebec, come from? The Montréal tourism website shares this information: There are two competing claims about the origin of poutine. As one story goes, in 1957, a regular at a restaurant called Le Lutin Qui Rit in Warwick asked for cheese curds with his order of fries. Owner Fernand Lachance reportedly replied, “Ça va faire une maudite poutine!” (“It will make a damn mess!”) Brown gravy was added, and poutine (35 cents) became a menu item.
Story two comes from Le Roy Jucep, a restaurant in Drummondville. In 1950, the restaurant sold a dish called patate sauce. Patrons started adding their own cheese curds to it, and ultimately, owner Roy added this concoction to the menu. Roy is recognized and certified by The Canadian Intellectual Property Council as the official inventor of poutine.