Posted on 04/30/2012 12:50:42 PM PDT by dennisw
Gracing the front page of the Sunday edition of the San Francisco Chronicle was this report on how over 100 of California’s best chefs (with more surely to come) are joining forces at the 11th hour to oppose the July 1 statewide ban on foie gras.
Read the article for the full story, but in short, the chefs are proposing the strongest farming regulations in the world to set a standard for foie gras production, instead of creating a black market. Led by the GGRA, the chefs are hoping to find a sponsor in legislation to overturn the ban. Expect further coverage on that when/if it develops.
As evidenced by the hundreds of comments, it’s an issue that people are passionate about. Will restaurants live or die by foie gras? Of course not. But as the chefs quoted in the article point out, there’s more to the issue than economics. It’s not only about choice, but about setting standards, about California becoming a world leader in farming ethics, and about setting priorities.
Due to space restrictions in the print edition, we couldn’t run the full charter or the chefs that have signed it. But we can run it here:
(Excerpt) Read more at insidescoopsf.sfgate.com ...
Nice to see the Democrat legislature taking care of such pressing issues
I’ve never eaten the stuff. Sounds interesting. Does anyone know what it actually tastes like?
Potted meat? Does foie gras come with that strange jelly that comes with the Vienna sausages?
First time I've seen fois gras served with black cherry jello.....yum
I once went to Picasso, the restaurant in the Bellagio in Vegas. They had a price fixe menu where you get a seven course dinner, paired with the appropriate wine. One of the courses was a seared fois gras with a cherry-flavored wine. I took a couple of bites and the flavor was extraordinarily good. Kind of like how fat on a steak tastes. But I couldn’t finish it. Nor could my date. Not that we didn’t “like” its taste, we just couldn’t get past the thought of it being LIVER.
One thing I have learned about food, no matter what it is, somebody, someplace eats it.
It makes their livers get fat and much larger than it normally would be.
They could probably just eat the livers of dead winos and get the same thing.
I feel the same way about escargots. :)
It’s possible to get it without the force-feeding. In the fall, geese and ducks will overfeed themselves naturally in preparation for winter. By timing the butchering right, you can raise fois gras humanely. It just isn’t the standard practice.
I don’t do restaurants — too particular.
So, I’ve never had foie gras, but I want some now.
What sort of store carries it? I’m in a pretty ritzy suburb of philly, and I never see it in markets.
I would prefer to get my foie gras from a small farmer who cares more about hid children than his animals. A farmer who hates big government. But I’ll take any I can find as long as it helps frustrate the banners and regulators.
"Waiter....there are snails on her plate....You would think that in a fancy restaurant at these prices you could keep the snails off the food! There are so many snails there you can't even see the food! Now take those away and bring us those melted cheese sandwich appetizers you talked me out of!"
LOL! Love that movie!
LOL! And bring us some of that fresh wine! None of this ‘69 stuff. THIS year!
Here’s some foie gras you would like http://www.ebay.com/itm/French-FOIE-GRAS-200g-4-5ppl-with-Armagnac-and-Cognac-/140510816212?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20b718e7d4
"Can you believe this? First, they didn't have the bamboo umbrellas for the wine, and now snails on the food!"
As a group California chefs are some of the most progressive people on the planet. They have no problem with govt telling people what to do, just not them.
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