Restaurant Receives Threats After Diners Thought Dish Was Named After Putin

A restaurant in Paris has been forced to offer an explanation after customers wrongly believed one of its dishes was named after Russian President Vladimir Putin.

La Maison de la Poutine, or the House of Poutine, faced backlash from misunderstanding members of the public in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which began after Putin announced a 'special military operation' in the country on 24 February.

The Russian president has been widely condemned for his actions, with world leaders and civilians alike blasting his decision to send his troops across the border, so naturally it would be controversial for a restaurant to seemingly honour Putin by naming a dish after him.

Believing this to be the case, some people launched 'calls of insults and even threats' towards La Maison de la Poutine over its namesake dish, the restaurant claimed.

However, poutine is not named after Putin, and is in fact simply a delicious dish make up of chips, cheese curds and gravy which is popular in both Canada and France.

Though the exact date it was invented has been disputed, it's thought to have originated some time in the 1950s or 60s in Quebec - long before Putin's reign as president - but The Toronto Sun notes that Putin’s last name is written and pronounced 'Poutine' in French, making the confusion understandable. 

La Maison de la Poutine sought to clarify this in a post on Twitter, explaining that as a result of the backlash it had received, "It, therefore, seems necessary for us to recall that La Maison de la Poutine is unrelated to the Russian regime and its leader."

The post continued (translated): "Our dish was born in Quebec in the 1950s. And the stories to tell its origin are numerous. But one thing is certain: poutine was created by passionate cooks who care about bringing joy and comfort to their customers."

The restaurant went on to make clear its support for Ukraine and "the Ukrainian people who are courageously fighting for their freedom against the tyrannical Russian regime."

It seems those responsible for the criticisms aren't the only ones to recognise the link between Putin and poutine, as a restaurant in Quebec, Canada decided to remove the latter from their menu as a way to condemn the Russian president.

In a Facebook post cited by The Toronto Sun, Le Roy Jucep in Drummondville wrote: "Dear clients and friends. This evening, the Jucep team has chosen to temporarily remove the word ‘p**tine’ from its trademark in order to express, in its own way, its deep dismay at the situation in Ukraine.”

The restaurant is said to have later deleted the post after receiving backlash for its decision.