On Wednesday October 27, 2004, Maisonneuve Magazine hosted The Biggest Poutine Party at La Belle Province on St. Laurent Boulevard in Montreal. Hundreds of people filed in to witness and taste the 5' x 7' dish of sloppy, steaming poutine. In all, 400 pounds of potatoes, 40 litres of gravy and 22 kilograms of cheese curds. Mmmmmm!

An Ode to the Giant Poutine (Real Audio), as read by poet Mona Awad.

Poutine, poutine, how I loathe and love thee,
Poutine, poutine, how I oft envision thee,
No sugar plums dancing in dreams for me,
Only thee, in thy fabulous squidgy splendour
and gargantuan grease-soaked locks,
How I run, run, run my fingers through your curds
Even in my thoughts.

 

They say look before you leap,
But I leapt blindly, boldly, in my best bib for you
Into thy dark kiddie pool-like bowl of
Potato, cheese and saucey stew.
If only I had known what I was getting into.
I didn’t have a clue. Then or now. Oh you.

For I have known them all already, known them all,
Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons.
I have measured out my life with greasy spoons,
And I have known the fries already, known them all,
Fries that are soggy and beige and bare
and always drowned in saucy layers.
But tell me, is it this cheesy gravy mess
That makes me not digest?

I saw the best stomachs of my generation destroyed by poutine,
gluttonous, bloated, bulging,
Dragging themselves through the fast food streets at dawn looking for a greasy fix,
Poutine-driven hipsters waddling toward the poutineries of night.

 

So shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art nothing like a summer’s day,
Thou art more glutinous and more squeaky.
So long as men eat and teeth can chew,
So long lives this, and this turns sauce to stew.

And I shall not go gentle into that poutine
But feast, feast against the dying of the diner light …

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How does one serve a giant poutine? The CBC's Dave Bronstetter speaks to Hugo Grammatikakis, the owner of the La Belle Province franchise that hosted the party. Click here (Real Audio).

Want to know how it was assembled? The CBC's Sara Germanotta reports live from the party on Radio Noon with Nancy Wood.
Click here (Real Audio).

Sara Germanotta joins HomeRun's Bernard St. Laurent in studio to talk poutine and, of course, the Poutine Party! Click here (Real Audio).

Reporter Michelle Guenard was at the Poutine Party. See her report on Canada Now with Ian Hanomansing. Click here (Real Video).

Click here for more information about CBC Montreal Matters.