LONDON: A French restaurant called Maison de la Poutine was subjected to insulting calls and threats this weekend by people apparently confusing the name of its signature dish, poutine, with the name of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
Poutine, Canada’s national dish, composed of fries with gravy and cheese curds, has been an unlikely casualty in people’s anger towards Russia’s invasion into Ukraine.
“Our dish was born in Quebec in the 1950s, and the stories to tell its origin are numerous. But one thing is certain: Poutine was created by passionate cooks who wanted to bring joy and comfort to their customers,” the restaurant tweeted.
The mix-up is likely to have been prompted by the French spelling of the Russian leader’s name, as seen in a recent tweet by French President Emmanuel Macron in which he described a conversation with “Président Poutine.”
People quickly took to Twitter to express the absurdity of the mix-up.
One user said: “People, please stop confusing Putin and poutine. One is a dangerous and unwholesome mix of greasy, lumpy and congealed ingredients, the other is a delicious food.”
“Please for the love of all that is Canadian,” another tweeted, “#Poutine is french fries with gravy and cheese, not the Russian leader.”
People around the world have been renaming Russian items to show solidarity with Ukraine. In the UK, supermarket chain Sainsbury’s renamed its chicken Kiev dish chicken Kyiv, the Ukrainian spelling, rather than the Russian spelling.
In the US, some bars and restaurants have renamed the Moscow mule cocktail the Kyiv mule, while others have started to rename White and Black Russians, calling the cocktails White and Black Ukrainians.
