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Does our reputation for poutine precede us? Is there an anti-Canadian bias at work? Or are our nation’s culinary talents simply not up to snuff? In our rush to bemoan Canada’s place outside the rankings of the world’s elite restaurants, we typically misdiagnose the problem.

It has nothing to do with poutine, an international conspiracy against chefs that say “eh,” or the expertise present in kitchens across Canada. Instead, the answer is simple, although it’s not one we’re likely to enjoy: Canadian restaurants aren’t recognized outside of Canada because they’re made for Canadians, and Canadians have neglected to create room for fine dining in this country.

We value trends over consistency, and cheap eats over fine dining. Thanks to the rise of street food, truck food, and sharing plates, there are more affordable and delicious meal options than there have ever been. If you can pay $7 for a fried chicken sandwich that will satisfy your cravings, why would you want to spend $300 on lunch?

If you’re like most Canadians, you wouldn’t. Steep prices and tiny portions can make the world of fine dining feel pretentious and inaccessible. Experimental and deconstructed dishes do not resemble how most of us eat, or even what we think of when we think of a good meal. But that doesn’t mean they don’t matter.

Tasting menus from the world’s best influence what’s on our plates more than many of us care to know. Trends that start in fine dining institutions trickle down to our everyday eateries and grocery store shelves. Noma Chef René Redzepi’s insistence on using ingredients exclusive to Denmark – leading him to swear off olive oil – helped bring Nordic cuisine to the mainstream while fuelling a local food movement that has since made its way to your local Subway sandwich shop with Subway’s proud use of local Ontario vegetables. The rise of Asian-inspired comfort foods no doubt owes credit to David Chang’s Momofuku empire, which reimagined Asian-American cuisine with its signature pork buns and innovative ramen. The trendy risotto boom of 2012 can be attributed to Massimo Bottura’s invention of risotto cacio e pepe – a recipe Bottura created at Osteria Francescana in an attempt to save nearly 1,000 wheels of damaged Italian Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.