Les Poutineurs in Caen, France, focuses explicitly on Canada’s favourite comfort food.Les Poutineurs/Supplied
It’s late, and I’m standing in line in Caen, France, to order poutine from a spot that’s decked out in a framed Toronto Raptors jersey (Vince Carter’s retired number 15) and a giant mural featuring a moose, a grazing dairy cow and cartoonish depictions of Viking and Indigenous traders. In the midst of it all, a triumphant fist emerges with a spuddy potato. It’s so over-the-top, I have to wonder whether the poutine will live up to the decor.
Les Poutineurs is the only poutine shop in Normandy with an entire menu that focuses explicitly on Canada’s favourite comfort food. But, as I came to learn, the connection between Canada and this city in northwestern France goes far beyond fries.
Les Poutineurs offers traditional Quebec cheese curds, or French-inspired toppings such as creamy Camembert or melted raclette.Les Poutineurs/Supplied
At the counter, I’m faced with two cheese choices beyond the usual curds – creamy Camembert or melted raclette. The restaurant imports its cheese curds across the Atlantic from Laiterie de Coaticook, one of Québec’s best-known dairy producers. It’s a committed move, because, while there are a handful of other restaurants in France offering poutine, they usually use local curds.
At Le Poutineurs, the fries are cut by hand in house, never frozen. And the gravy is homemade, too. I chose a mix of Quebec curds and Normandy’s homegrown Camembert – a delightfully cheesy combination of two culinary identities. The curds even produce that satisfying, signature squeak poutine aficionados look for. I am not disappointed.
Poutine quietly emerged in France in 2014 with the opening of Poutinebros in Rennes, followed by La Maison de la Poutine in Paris a few years later. The majority of poutine in France is concentrated in Paris, but it has been popping up in Normandy, perhaps because it receives so many Canadian visitors.
Les Poutineurs’ Cheezy Lovers, topped with cheddar cheese sauce,cheese curds, smoked bacon and cracked black pepper.Les Poutineurs/Supplied
But because Normandy receives so many Canadian visitors, it’s almost like it’s crept onto the menus for that particular audience
A two-hour drive away in Muchedent, another tribute to Canada is found at Parc Canadien, a Canadian-themed wildlife park and nature reserve. Opened to the public in 1994, it’s now home to Europe’s largest breeding farm of Canadian bison. The park expanded to include a restaurant offering Canadian fare. For nearly 30 years, alongside the chance to taste game meat through menu items such as bison charcuterie and a house-made bison burger with bacon, visitors have been able to feast on distinctly Canadian dishes such as Quebec-style maple-glazed chicken. The restaurant is built to look like a backwoods cabin, and there’s even tipi camping and canoe trips available on site.
Les Poutineurs’ La Bourguignonne poutine comes with cheese, beef, mushrooms, smoked bacon and a homemade Bourguignon sauce.Les Poutineurs/Supplied
Normandy’s penchant for Canadian cuisine (many cafes and restaurants in Normandy also serve Quebec maple syrup) is just one small fraction of a warm-hearted relationship that has been interwoven between the two countries for more than 80 years.
Canadian troops helped secure Caen from German forces in 1944. The Normandy Campaign was an intense struggle that killed an estimated 5,000 Canadian soldiers, and when liberation finally came, Caen was left ruined, with more than 70 per cent of the city destroyed.
After the war, Canada helped with rebuilding efforts while providing economic relief. Today, visitors to this part of France will find memorials, monuments, museums and entire gardens devoted to Canada, as well as streets and public spaces bearing Canadian names. In Caen and Dieppe, the Canadian flag hangs proudly through the streets year-round, keeping the memory of Canada’s ultimate sacrifice alive for all to see.
“Canadians are remembered because they did not simply liberate beaches; they liberated people. People who remember and whose memory has become part of the DNA of generations that followed,” said Nathalie Worthington, director of the Juno Beach Centre. “It is also important to remember that, for many years after the war, French families placed flowers on the graves of Canadian soldiers, sometimes doing so on behalf of the soldiers’ Canadian families. These acts of remembrance created bonds between families and communities on both sides of the Atlantic.”
With its sweeping coastline, medieval streets and villages, and wonderfully warm Canadian welcome, it’s a French region worth exploring for both its history and nostalgic taste of home.
The writer travelled to France as a guest of Atout France, which did not review or approve this article. Stories are based on merit; The Globe does not guarantee coverage.