Gross? A little. Canadian? Very.
On October 13, Smoke's Poutinerie held their third annual poutine eating contest in Yonge-Dundas Sqaure in downtown Toronto. Besides offering free poutine for the public (another good reason to go), Smoke's had 15 professionals complete for $5,000 and the ultimate greasy title of World Poutine Eating Champion — and it was all put on film by the culinary adventure seekers, Vice.com. To kick off the event, they also had an amateur contest featuring 15 everyday Canadians stuffing their face with poutine.
Never had poutine? You have no idea what you're missing out on. The "delicacy " comes from Quebec, and consists of three important components: French fries, brown gravy and real cheese curds. As of late, chefs have created their own spins on the dish, which have included everything from a variety of herbs to full on nachos.
Contestants in the contest were given mini poutine cartons created the traditional way. Each brave soul had 10 minutes to get through as many boxes as they could — and successfully swallow everything they had in their mouths without puking.
The event featured two Canadians — Meredith “The Deep Fried Diva” Boxberger from Barrie, Ont. and Ben Do from Kitchener Ont., according to The Toronto Sun, along with world professional eater Joey Chestnut of Chicago and former champ Pat "Deep-Dish" Bertoletti.
Chestnut took this year's title, along with $2,000 in prize money after eating 19 half-pound boxes of poutine, according to ifoce.com.
Pounds of poutine (and fat) is nothing new for Smoke's. In 2010, the fast-food franchise introduced a 1422 calorie bacon-topped poutine, according to HealthZone.ca. And the Montreal-made speciality itself has caught attention from countries around the world including being served in a Beijing restaurant as this blogger found or a curry-style poutine in Mumbai.
Proceeds from the contest were donated to the Daily Bread Food Bank.
ALSO: 10 delicious poutine recipes from Huffington Post Taste that you don't need to eat in a rush:
UPDATE: This article has been update since its original publication to include Vice.com's descriptive video.