"This book is just as warm, accessible, and charming as the comfort food at its heart. Charlebois takes us on a journey from the little place where he first tasted poutine after childhood sporting games, to the simple snack's rise to fame as a globally recognised Canadian icon. Beautifully intertwining personal memories with historical and political context, the book helps us to understand how local culinary traditions become imbued with power, andpower and shape the way we relate to the world. A must-read for anyone interested in the myriad connections between food, identity, and meaning."--Tarryn Phillips, Associate Professor of Crime, Justice and Legal Studies, La Trobe University "In this engaging personal exploration of Poutine as a Canadian icon, Sylvain Charlebois shows how a humble dish rose from the ordinary to become extraordinary. From its origins in Quebec to its spread across the globe, we learn that Poutine is adaptable, accessible, and acts as a cultural ambassador. An excellent depiction of how humans define themselves through food."--Marlene Epp, Author of Eating Like a Mennonite: Food and Community Across Borders and Professor Emeritus of History, University of Waterloo "Poutine Nationis a charming, popular history which analyzes how poutine, an unassuming dish from rural Quebec, became a Canadian food icon.
Readers beware, consuming this book will have you craving and sampling poutine in your community and beyond! Proving Sylvain Charlebois' point that in slightly less than sixty years, this modest and calorie dense snack has grown to become a global phenomenon." --Valerie J. Korinek, A.S. Morton Chair and Professor, FRSC, Department of History, University of Saskatchewan "In this thoughtful book, Sylvain Charlebois explores how the trinity of fries, cheese curds, and gravy has come to define, if not unite, an unlikely community of rural Quebecers, Canadians more broadly, and snackers around the world."--Jeffrey M. Pilcher, Professor of Food Studies, University of Toronto.