He's talking about poutine.
"It's a lovely dish filled with crispy French fries, squeaky cheese curds, and really rich brown gravy. It's the perfect comfort food for a cold winter day."
In the French-Canadian province of Québec, where poutine hails from, fries vary from one restaurant to another. So does the gravy, though it's usually based on a mix of chicken and beef stock.
PERFECT FOR THE COLDER MONTHS
Poutine
One thing that doesn't change is featuring fresh cheddar cheese curds, or fromage en grains, which makes a squeaky noise when you bite into them.
"We accept nothing but the squeakiest of cheese curds on our poutines," says Blaney, whose food truck specialises in poutine.
We describe it as a big warm hug in a bowl.
"Cheese curds are a hard thing to find in Australia, nobody makes cheddar cheese curds in WA so we import them from Wisconsin."
On the Sunshine Coast, Sandra Cousillas has found a local supplier of cheese curds for her online-only poutine business,
.
She says it's important to have the right cheese, but also the right temperature: "The fries and sauce have to be warm, and the cheese curds have to be at room temperature."
Hearty bowls of poutine are plenty at Panache Bistro. Source: Panache Bistro
Cousillas grew up in Laval, not far from where poutine was invented in the 1950s.
is that a diner in the Centre-du-Québec region – possibly
or Le lutin qui rit (it's
) – began covering its fries in cheese curds and gravy at the request of a customer.
The famous Le Roy Jucep. Source: Le Roy Jucep
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Scottish-Chinese poutine
Poutine has since become the most famous Québec dish, with Canadians around the country
.
Festivals like
celebrate poutine, encourage restaurants to come up with creative versions. While you can still get classic poutine at a diner, a fast-food chain or an ice rink, more restaurants than ever are now embracing the dish.
Cousillas says, "To tell the truth, poutine is probably the best dish to eat after a big night out. It’s the right amount of naughty, comforting and greasy.
"I have memories of eating it in diners and franchises. A lot of really good restaurants nowadays make their version of poutine.
They'll probably do their own cheese curds and tweak the gravy sauce to do a pepper or Diane or mushroom sauce."
Where to eat poutine in Québec
In Drummondville, situated east of Montréal, you can eat poutine at
, where it's said to have all started.
In Montréal,
and
are popular with tourists who enjoy the long list of extra toppings, from chopped corn dogs to smoked meat and vegetables.
But if you ask locals, many will send you to
, an old-school diner open late. And if you're after fancy poutine, head to
for the famous foie gras poutine.
"Often, people will ask us why is poutine so popular? It's like asking Australians why meat pies and sausage rolls are popular here. It's pretty much the most iconic dish in Quebec! It's part of our culture, and I'm so happy to know it's becoming part of other cultures and countries too," says Cousillas.
Where to eat poutine in Australia
While you might have seen poutine on Australian menus before, it's often lacking cheese curds and proper gravy.
In Perth, Blaney was inspired to launch
by his Canadian wife, who used to work in a poutinerie (a restaurant specialising in poutine) as a teenager. His best-seller is the poutine covered in smoked ham, bacon and pulled pork.
You can also find poutine at the
in South Melbourne,
in Hobart and
in Sydney.
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