Imagine my surprise to find that my neighbours across the river, in Quebec, are being subjected to a test-marketing program for what McDonald’s is calling ‘Breakfast Poutine’… The stuff looks breakfasty, alright. But is it REALLY Poutine?
The first ting I asked myself, on viewing the advert promo photo above, was, “Where are the fries?” Then, closer inspection revealed that the little spud-nubbins were more like Mini Tater Tots. Indeed, the official description of the dish says they’re, “made with 100% Canadian potatoes.” Should they not, I asked supplementally, just BE, “100 % Canadian potatoes?”
What it is…
The official news release announces, boldly, “By popular demand, McDonald’s Canada is introducing the Breakfast Poutine, a bold new offering that reimagines a classic with the iconic flavours of McDonald’s breakfast.”
The dish itself is described as based on, “Crispy potato bites made with 100% Canadian potatoes”, topped with, “a savoury mix of scrambled eggs, tomatoes, green chilies, onions, and sausage.” That’s crowned with, “cheese curds and a delicious hot hollandaise-style sauce.”
Just take a minute to cogitate on that…
But is it really ‘Poutine’?
No. By strict definition, the new menu item, cannot be Poutine. Cheese Curd is about the only ‘orig-inal’ Poutine ingredient in the dish. The potato component is more like mini Tater Tops than the traditional fries. Scrambled eggs have no place in a Poutine. Especially when the third main ingred-ient, good old diner-style brown gravy is nowhere to be found!
An objective analysis
An objective analysis yields a sad truth: Yes, the so-capped Breakfast Poutine does embody, “the iconic flavours of McDonald’s breakfast.”
But it’s not Poutine, by any stretch of the imagination. What it is, is a newstalgized, McDonald-ized version of traditional Breakfast Skillet Hash.
My take
So…. Why did they call it poutine? Just to capiyalize on the ‘Canadiana’ that name implies. And to play up the fact that it’s being served in Quebec (the natal place of Poutine), and the Maritimes, where a relatively high percentage of folks are French speakers who cherish French Canadian Culture.
McD’s new ‘Breakfast Poutine’ is available for a limited time, in regular and large sized orders.
“Our guests have been asking for a breakfast poutine for a long time, and we are proud to unveil this exciting take on a Canadian classic,” says Melissa Hains, Director, Field Marketing at McDonald’s Canada. Too bad McD’s didn’t actually give it to them!
~ Maggie J.