Curd is the word
Capital-region restaurants vie for poutine supremacy in first annual contest, to raise funds for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Fredericton and Oromocto from Sept. 21-30
First, they battled over the best burgers. Next, there was a melee over mac and cheese.
And now, more than a dozen Fredericton-area businesses are scrambling to be proclaimed the preeminent purveyor of poutine.
The newest food-based contest among capital-region eateries is the Freddy Poutine Fest, which will see participating restaurants vying for votes to see which one offers the best take on the Quebec classic – all to benefit Big Brothers/Big Sisters (BBBS) of Fredericton and Oromocto and the kids it helps with its programs.
Isabelle Scholten, the chair of the local Big Brothers/Big Sisters fundraising committee, said 17 restaurants in the region have signed up to participate.
She said $2 from every poutine sold during the event - running from Sept. 21-30 - will go to the organization to help children in need.
“September is BBBS month in Canada so the timing is good to enjoy a friendly competition between local restaurants,” Scholten said.
“Several other BBBS agencies across the country have run the poutine event and we thought it could be a good fit for Fredericton.”
Diners chowing down on the signature french-fry dish can vote for their favourites, and the eatery earning the most votes will win the first Poutine Choice Award.
Voting will be done through social media, offering the participants more exposure and buzz.
To vote, diners will be urged to share pics of their picks for the best poutine on Instagram and/or Facebook, tagging the restaurants and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Fredericton and Oromocto, and using a dedicated hashtag: #FreddyBBBSPoutineFest.
But there’s also another award up for grabs. The restaurant that sells the most poutines during the 10-day run of the event will earn the distinction of Gravy Bowl Champion.
Everyone wins
Tabatha Smith is doubly invested in the Freddy Poutine Fest, as she owns two participating restaurants: Isaac’s Way and the Abbey Café, both on Queen Street in Fredericton.
Culinary competitions such as the poutine fest are great marketing opportunities for food-sector businesses, she said, as they spur more people to dine out and take part.
“This definitely motivates people to visit the restaurants,” Smith said.
Another benefit of such events is how it drives the staff in a new way and challenges chefs to do something in the kitchen that’s outside of the routine and set menus, she said. Cooks like to get inventive and try new things, she said, and developing a new poutine dish certainly falls under that umbrella.
For example, when the Fredericton Independent reached Smith to talk about the poutine fest, she was meeting with her chef at the Abbey Café to discuss the eatery’s entry in the competition.
She said they came up something she feels will stand out as a bit more unusual: a vegan take on the decadent dish. It will offer a poutine made with zucchini fries, with a vegan alfredo sauce and a vegan substitute for cheese.
Another element of the event that drives small-business owners such as her and their employees to embrace such foodie fights, she said, is the chance to give back to the community by supporting important causes.
“We all enjoy anything that benefits our community,” Smith said.
Fond memories
Poutine is loved by so many as a hearty comfort food and as an occasional indulgence… maybe even a guilty pleasure.
Geoff Durham, local BBBS treasurer and a mentor to two kids in the program, clearly has an appreciation of the dish at the centre of the local BBBS’ new fundraiser. He said he first sampled it when he was quite young, about seven or eight years old.
“At a small family restaurant, the waitress asked me if I would like to change my fries to a poutine. I asked, ‘What is a poutine?’ She asked me if I like gravy and if I like cheese. I said, “Of course!”
The server told her poutine had both on top of fries, Durham said, so he decided to give it a try.
“When it came out it looked like white clumpy cheese, covered in gravy on my fries. With my hand, I took one fry first with just gravy and ate it,” he said.
“Then I took my fork and a small amount of fries with the cheese and gravy. My mom asked what I thought. ‘It was delicious,’ I told her.”
Durham even remembers the best poutine he’s ever had. It was a small family restaurant in Toronto, now closed. He said it was a basic poutine, nothing particularly inventive or fancy about it.
“The thing I remember most about it and what made it my favourite was how crispy the fries stayed the whole time I was eating the poutine,” he said.
“Fries can usually get soft and mushy, which don’t get me wrong, is a great part of the poutine eating experience, but these fries were so crispy and delicious.”
Durham recalled the rich gravy had a local beer base to it.
“I have had quite a few poutines: breakfast, pulled pork, Greek inspired, and even ones with cheese sauce over curds, but I will always remember and compare them to that one,” he said.
Here’s a complete list of the 17 participating restaurants hoping to get the most votes in the 2023 Poutine Fest:
The Abbey Café
The Cabin Restaurant
Dolan's Pub
Gahan House Riverside
The Hilltop
Isaac’s Way
The Joyce Pub
Lincoln Big Stop
Mama's Brew Pub
Monks & Jonesie - Bishop Drive
Monks & Jonesie - Golf Club
Montana’s
Namaste Kitchen
Rustico
Sam Snead’s
The Snooty Fox
and Williams Seafood.
Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly attributed the memories of poutine to Scholten instead of Durham. We regret the error.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.