London invites chefs to produce vegan foie gras

The initiative will certainly not appeal to France. The British government, writes the Guardian, has summoned some vegan chefs to discuss how to create plant-based foie gras. The French specialty has long been in the crosshairs of animal rights activists and, according to sources cited by the newspaper, London is exploring the possibility of banning its sale. The production of goose liver pâté has already been banned on British territory, because it is considered cruel against animals, but luxury restaurants continue to import the product from France. But British MPs are taking action to ban the sale and import of foie gras, while the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Department is working to prepare a law. In this context, the government is also interested in promoting a vegan alternative. A pioneer in this field is the French chef Alexis Gauthier, who in his restaurant in Soho has started to propose “faux gras”, whose name is a game of words between ‘fatty liver’ and ‘false fat’. Gauthier said that he once sold 20 kilos a week of real foie gras but, after animal rights protests in front of his restaurant, he looked for other avenues. And now, he assures, customers arrive from all over the country to taste his vegan substitute, based on mushrooms, lentils, nuts and cognac. The British government asked him for the recipe and invited him for a confrontation of ideas. “We have learned that your restaurant serves alternatives to foie gras. We would like to arrange a virtual meeting with the chef or other team members to discuss views on foie gras, the challenges and opportunities associated with ethical alternatives,” reads. in the email sent to Gauthier and other vegan chefs. Among the gourmet symbols of French cuisine, foie gras is produced by forcibly gorging the geese to enlarge their liver. The practice is considered by many to be cruel and the city of New York has already decided in 2019 to prohibit its sale starting in 2022. In London, a temple of luxury gastronomic specialties such as Fortnum & Mason has already removed the liver pâté. goose off the shelves. The ban on the sale will certainly not please France, whose relations with London after Brexit are increasingly fraught with tensions, from the dispute with fishing to the controversy over the Aukus defense pact.