National Poutine Day Date in the current year: April 11, 2024

Poutine is a dish that consists of french fries, cheese curds, and beef or chicken gravy. It emerged in the Centre-du-Québec region of Canada in the late 1950s. Several restaurants in the area claim to be the birthplace of the dish: Le Luin qui rit in Warwick, Le Roy Jucep in Drummondville, and La Petite Vache in Princeville.

For decades, poutine was a cheap snack food served in small, cheap diners, pubs, food trucks, and ice hockey arenas. It was often perceived as unsophisticated and unhealthy, looked down upon, and used by some to mock and stigmatize the culture of Quebec. Today, however, poutine is arguably the most famous dish of French Canadian cuisine that can be found throughout Quebec and beyond.

There are two possible dates of National Poutine Day that you might come across online: March 5 and April 11. April 11 is the more widely accepted one despite its somewhat murky origins. This version of National Poutine Day is believed to have been created in 2018 to promote the iconic dish. It is celebrated both in Quebec and outside of the province, as well as in some places in the United States.

Interestingly, National Poutine Day that is celebrated in March emerged before its April counterpart. It was founded by producer Danny Rodriguez who spent several months in Manitoba, Winnipeg while filming Bravetown. During his time in Canada, Rodriguez developed a liking for poutine. Upon his return to the United States, he created National Poutine Day and opened the first location of Smoke’s Poutinerie in the United States.

Regardless of which date you prefer, there are many ways to celebrate National Poutine Day! You can check out if there is a place near you that has poutine on the menu and enjoy the dish there, make poutine at home, plan a trip to Quebec to have authentic poutine, or throw a Canada-themed party for your friends. And don’t forget to spread the word about the holiday on social media with the hashtags #NationalPoutineDay and #PoutineDay.

National Poutine Day isn’t the only celebration of poutine; annual celebrations of the dish occur in Drummondville, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Quebec City, and other Canadian cities. The largest celebration of poutine in the world is La Poutine Week, an annual food festival that occurs throughout Canada and abroad during the first two weeks of February. During the event, several hundred restaurants in different countries (Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil, the United Kingdom, France, and more) encourage their customers to indulge in poutine by offering various promotions and new poutine recipes.