It was Chicago’s first festival devoted to the unholy amazing combination of cheese curds, french fries and gravy. Many of Chicago’s top restaurants (in the gooey fried comforty stuff department, at least) participated in the contest at Haymarket Pub & Brewery, dishing up the goods to a sold-out crowd. But in the end all your PQMs and Phillip Fosses and Ryan Polis and Red Doors, good as their offerings were, were forced to acknowledge that a Poutine King had been crowned: The Gage’s poutine— with braised wild boar, Wisconsin cheddar cheese curds, smoked mirepoix, and pickled red onion, garnished with chives— topped them all in the judgement of both the judges and the crowd. Our man Huge Galdones was there not merely as a photographer, but as the one actual Montrealer among the judges, and here’s his report from the frontlines in pictures and captions. Strap on your seatbelts and get ready for fried cheese and gravy.
Who would go home with the title and the trophy?
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2013 Galdones Photography // All Rights Reserved
The Haymarket Pub, home to Poutinefest.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2013 Galdones Photography // All Rights Reserved
The building blocks of a successful entry. It’s all about the cheese… and the fries… and the gravy…
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2013 Galdones Photography // All Rights Reserved
…and the lobster, if you’re The Boarding House.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2013 Galdones Photography // All Rights Reserved
Next chef Dave Beran was among the judges, who also included chef Cam Dobranski from Canada, our man Huge Galdones (a Montreal native) and Chicago Food Snob blogger Joe Campagna.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2013 Galdones Photography // All Rights Reserved
Organizers Melissa Karlin, Rebecca Skoch and Molly O’Sullivan.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2013 Galdones Photography // All Rights Reserved
Little Market Brasserie prepares to deep fry its cheese curds.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2013 Galdones Photography // All Rights Reserved
And they’re off! The Peasantry dishes out white gravy poutine.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2013 Galdones Photography // All Rights Reserved
Lamb merguez poutine, from Leopold.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2013 Galdones Photography // All Rights Reserved
Squeakiest Cheese goes to EL Ideas and chef Phillip Foss.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2013 Galdones Photography // All Rights Reserved
Quebec-born chef Christian Gosselin rocks the fleur de lys on his sleeve… and serves a loaded lobster poutine
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2013 Galdones Photography // All Rights Reserved
The Gage plates their gooey goodness.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2013 Galdones Photography // All Rights Reserved
Mickey Neely of Scofflaw.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2013 Galdones Photography // All Rights Reserved
Ryan Poli of Little Market Brasserie.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2013 Galdones Photography // All Rights Reserved
Fried chicken poutine from Publican Quality Meats.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2013 Galdones Photography // All Rights Reserved
And the winner is… The Gage, which took both the Judges’ and the People’s Choice awards. That’s chef de cuisine Peter Coenen holding aloft the trophy.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2013 Galdones Photography // All Rights Reserved
