Foie gras off the menu - 1st March 2008
TWO top restaurants have taken foie gras off the menu after a campaign by animal activists.
Restaurateur Matthew Mooney was advised by police to either remove the speciality dish or install internal CCTV cameras at his Cheshire restaurants La Belle Epoque in Knutsford and The Duke of Portland in Lach Dennis, Northwich.
He had been bombarded with e-mails from animal welfare groups such as The Foie Gras Free North campaign, which has published a list of places to boycott.
On the website, campaigners urge activists to be polite when contacting restaurants and stores selling the dish.
But Mr Mooney feared for his staff.
He said: "Police have been monitoring the activists' websites, and an officer advised us to either stop selling foie gras, or get internal CCTV installed.
"We already had CCTV. I took the decision to remove foie gras from the menu. It was a minor part of a parfait of chicken liver dish. There is no intellectual debate about this issue, just hysterical reaction.
"We are still regularly asked for foie gras. We just explain the situation.
"Not one diner here has objected to it being on the menu." He added: "I personally will still consume it."
It is already illegal in Britain to produce the French dish, made from the livers of ducks and geese that have been force-fed grain and fat.
The process causes the birds' livers to swell to ten times their natural size.
Bolton council banned the dish from any of its events after it was revealed it was on the menu at the Bolton Food and Drink Festival function at the Reebok Stadium's De Vere Whites Hotel. Stockport council soon followed suit. Mr Mooney defended his restaurants' record on animal welfare.
He said: "I can take you to farms two minutes from both restaurants where the cattle are reared. They have RSPCA approved freedom food status."
Mr Mooney's brother David is the Raymond-Blanc-trained head chef at La Belle Epoque, which quickly gained a reputation as one of Cheshire's best restaurants, with much of its food locally sourced.
The Duke of Portland was awarded a place in the 2007 Michelin Pub Guide.
The move by Mr Mooney comes after the Midsummer House restaurant in Cambridge removed foie gras from the menu because it had been targeted by vandals claiming to be animal activists.
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Gastro pub will not give in to animal rights activists
26 February, 2008
By Matt Eley
Foie gras will stay on menu at Cheshire venues
The owners of an award-winning pub have refused to bow to pressure from animal rights activists to take foie gras off its menu.
The Belle Epoque and the Duke of Portland, both in Cheshire, are being targeted by animal rights activists for serving the French delicacy.
Police have even warned the owner for fear of having venues attacked and damaged.
But Matthew Mooney, who owns both pubs, has refused to back down.
He said: “I don’t understand why we have been singled out. We use foie gras as a secondary ingredient in Chicken & Liver Foie Parfait on our menu of over 30 dishes.
“All the rest of the menu is researched and put together using only locally sourced produce including RSPCA freedom friendly beef. “From an ethical standpoint, regionally there is no one better than us. I refuse to give in to violent activists. Foie gras is a delicacy that our customers enjoy.”
This is the second time the police have asked the restaurateurs to take the ingredients off the menu in six months. Detectives have been carrying out undercover work and monitoring activists after threats of damage to property and restaurants in the area.
Foie gras (French for fat liver) often sparks controversy among activists due to the way it is produced. The process can involve force-feeding a goose or duck to fatten its liver.
Last week Midsummer House in Cambridge, one of only a handful of restaurants in Britain to have two Michelin stars, remove foie gras from the menu after it was subjected to protests and vandalism by animal activists.
The Duke of Portland, in Lach Dennis, was the only venue in Cheshire to be added into the 2007 Michelin Pub Guide. It also won Pub of the Year at the Cheshire Food & Drink Festival last year.
http://www.thepublican.com/story.asp?sectioncode=7&storycode=58781&c=1
If you would like to contact either The Belle Epoque and the Duke of Portland their details are below.
The Belle Époque, 60 King Street, Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 6DT.
Tel: 01565 632661 email: info@thebelleepoque.comThe Duke of Portland, Penny's Lane, Lach Dennis, Cheshire, CW9 7SY.
Tel: 01606 46264 email: info@dukeofportland.com Website: www.dukeofportland.com
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