The Girl Who Loved Poutine

Zoey, her father and the country of Canada share a common birthday, July 1, and tomorrow will be Zoey’s fifth. Zoey’s family appears to follow the tradition that birthday honourees can request the specific foods to be served at their birthday dinner, and Zoey asks for her father’s homemade poutine, a messy dish consisting of a mound of hot French fries covered with cheese curds and then generously smothered in gravy.

Zoey’s birthday this year, however, has a special surprise. While father and daughter prepare their classic version of poutine, relatives from all over Canada arrive to share in Zoey’s birthday party, and each has brought a regional variant of poutine. Zoey’s task will be to sample them all and then pick a winner. Zoey begins with her Aunt Janice’s Newfoundland and Labrador Poutine that is “made with bread crumbs, savory herbs, onions, and topped off with homemade salt meat.” That is followed by an aunt and uncle’s Prince Edward Island poutine that features lobster. Even the home of poutine, Quebec, offers some variety as Aunt Celine from Montreal “has maple-smoked bacon, onions, and even maple syrup mixed with the gravy” atop her fries. Cousin Jeremy finishes his poutine offering with shredded Alberta beef while a Yellowknife aunt and uncle complete their recipe with caribou meat and green onions. Finally, Zoey’s Nona from Niagara Falls honours her Italian origins by replacing the gravy with pasta sauce. Zoey declares “EVERYONE!” the winner while later privately whispering to her father, “I liked all the poutine, but I will always love yours the best.”

Nicholson develops the idea of Zoey’s sharing her birthday with Canada by having Zoey recall, while sampling the various poutines, her memories of having visited her extended family members in various parts of this vast nation. For example, eating the PEI poutine leads to Zoey’s observation that “It reminds me of walking on red sand, making sandcastles, and Uncle Liam pulling up lobster traps” while the poutine garnished with caribou meat evokes memories of “winter and snowmobiling and eating soup to warm up” while visiting in Yellowknife.

The book’s two closing pages consist of “Fun Facts About Poutine”, including its origins in the province of Quebec in the 1950s or 60s, and a basic poutine recipe.

The Girl Who Loved Poutine is a fun read that features a uniquely Canadian dish, but a dish that is clearly open to regional expression.