Restaurant receives threats after patrons thought signature poutine dish was named after Putin

A Paris restaurant has spoken out after receiving threats and insults from customers who thought its signature poutine dish had been named after the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

La Maison de la Poutine, or the House of Poutine, tweeted on Friday that it had received “calls of insults and even threats” over its namesake dish.

The classic dish is composed of fries, doused with cheese curds and gravy, and is popular in both Canada and France.

In response, the establishment posted a statement on their Twitter page to clarify their position and the history of the French-Canadian dish.

“It, therefore, seems necessary for us to recall that La Maison de la Poutine is unrelated to the Russian regime and its leader,” it read, accompanied by a heart emoji, the Ukrainian flag and the restaurant’s logo.

“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,” it added.

The eatery went on to express its support to “the Ukrainian people who are courageously fighting for their freedom against the tyrannical Russian regime.”

The news comes as various food retailers and outlets have made changes to the names and sale of items in response to Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine.

Co-op Food confirmed the removal of Russian-made vodka from its shelves on Monday.

The supermarket said all products made by Russian Standard Vodka had been taken off sale “with immediate effect” because the brand is “overtly marketed as being Russian” and is produced in Russia.

“In response to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces and as a sign of solidarity with the people of Ukraine, we have taken the decision to remove from sale Russian-made vodka,” a spokesperson said.

Elsewhere, a social media calling on supermarkets to change the name of their chicken kievs to “chicken kyiv” to reflect the updated spelling of the Ukrainian capital in a show of solidarity has yielded results.

On Friday, Sainsbury’s became the first UK supermarket to change the name of the popular poultry dish, stating that new packaging would be rolled out across its stores in the coming weeks.

The supermarket added that it has also removed all products that are “100 per cent sourced from Russia” from its shelves.

“We stand united with the people of Ukraine. We have reviewed our product range and have decided to remove from sale all products that are 100 per cent sourced from Russia,” a statement said.

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