Farewell, Foie Gras


On July 1st, 2012, California became the only state in the United States to ban the consumption of foie gras.  Foie gras, a French delicacy consisting of fatty duck or goose liver, is an extremely common dish used by high-end chefs and has fans across the country.

Seared Foie Gras (Alexander's Steakhouse SV, Cupertino)

Although Chicago temporarily had a ban from 2006 to 2008, their ban was repealed after the City Council voted to overwhelmingly overturn it following comments made by their then Mayor Daley.  California's ban will be the only one in the United States and was actually passed in 2004, with 8 years for local producers to comply with the ban.

The controversy over foie gras largely is due to the production methods.  Ducks and geese are force-fed a rich diet such that their livers enlarge beyond normal size.  These fatty livers are then collected.

Animal rights activists have felt that force-feeding birds is an inhumane practice whereas foie gras producers and many chefs consider current methods to reflect a humane treatment of birds that naturally want to consume excess amounts of food prior to cycles such as migration.

Foie Gras Appetizer (Chaya Brasserie, San Francisco)

Whatever the view regarding the production of foie gras, it's clear that the delicacy will be missed by many high profile California chefs, including Michael Chiarello, Thomas Keller, and Tyler Florence, as well as diners.

In the lead up to the July 1st, 2012 date, numerous restaurants such as La Toque in Napa, Alexander's Steakhouse in San Francisco, and Chaya Brasserie have held foie gras events to raise money and awareness over the issue.  Creativity in using the dish has also blossomed as it's been featured in ways never seen before.  As a food fan, it's been a fun run up to the date and we'll see what happens in the future.

Foie Gras Sushi (Restaurant Mitsunobu, Menlo Park)

Until then...Farewell, Foie Gras!

Comments

Foodie Stuntman said…
It's unfortunate this had to occur, but like you note in Chicago, I think consumer demand will force lawmakers to repeal the ban while taking into consideration animal rights activists concerns.
July 1, 2012 at 11:29 AM
Post a Comment
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Popular posts from this blog

The Ultimate Steak: Dry-Aging 21, 30, and 45 Day Steaks

Image
Home Dry Aged Ribeye Steaks THE ORIGIN: After reading Serious Eats  The Food Lab's Complete Guide to Dry-Aging Beef at Home  (by J. Kenji Alt-Lopez), I felt confident enough in the safety and the ease to try dry-aging at home. Over the years, I had grown to love that dry-aged steak flavor you find at all the top steakhouses.  I often purchased dry-aged steak from the grocery (most butchers, many online steak purveyors such as the famous Lobel's of New York , and even Whole Foods offer dry-aged meat) and had long contemplated attempting it at home, even following several popular Kickstarter projects  about devices that let you dry-age your own steaks at home. Alexander's Steakhouse Dry-aged Bone-In Ribeye The Food Lab's guide speaks briefly about such products (summary: they do work) but had an even more welcome message: it's VERY simple to do it at home and you don't necessarily need a fancy setup. All you need is refrigerator space, a sourc
Read more

Discovery: Alexander's Steakhouse, Wakuriya, and Sushi Yoshizumi

Image
People often ask me why I write so many reviews and try so many restaurants.  One reason is that I like variety.  Trying different cuisines is a fun way to keep things interesting and novel. A more important reason may be the idea of discovery.  Akin to a child tasting ice cream for the first time or a young adult hearing their very first concert, the discovery of something new and special is always thrilling and exciting. What's perhaps as important is that these discoveries are most usually fortuitous happenstance - lucky finds that have become some of my most memorable meals - and that without all the sampling of restaurants they would never have been found.  In my short time chronicling my restaurant adventures (whether writing or taking photographs), I've only been lucky enough to feel like I've stumbled upon something truly special three times and each has been memorable. The first was Alexander's Steakhouse (Cupertino).  My parents took me soon
Read more

100% Perfect Girl - A Japanese Short Story

This is a transplanted post from another blog, circa 2005. It involves a short Japanese story called, the 100% Perfect Girl. Such a quirky story, yet still intriguing. It reminds me of a Seiko commercial in which a man buys a cheaper, less accurate watch and ends up not bumping into his future wife since he's off by 1 second.  That ad ran during the Super Bowl.  Life is driven by fate.  But it's also driven by taking advantage of opportunity. ON SEEING THE 100% PERFECT GIRL ONE BEAUTIFUL APRIL MORNING by Haruki Murakami One beautiful April morning, on a narrow side street in Tokyo’s fashionable Harujuku neighborhood, I walked past the 100% perfect girl. Tell you the truth, she’s not that good-looking. She doesn’t stand out in any way. Her clothes are nothing special. The back of her hair is still bent out of shape from sleep. She isn’t young, either - must be near thirty, not even close to a “girl,” properly speaking. But still, I know from fifty yards away: She’
Read more