Foie Gras War: La Resistance

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Has La Resistance started? Something is stirring in Chicago -- the only American city that has banned the sale of foie gras -- and Chef Graham Elliot Bowles of Avenues in the Peninsula Hotel and selected as a 2004 Best New Chef by Food & Wine, is showing the way with a Gandhi-like, "friendly sort of silent protest" which offers a 10-course foie gras tasting menu for $238. It is this "La Resistance du Gourmet Americain"? The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Graham started thinking about a way to counter the ban the very day after the ruling by the Chicago City Council (see previous article). The menu offers the addition of foie gras to each dish, or guests can choose any of the dishes off the menu with the addition of foie gras for $10 per course. The tasting menu includes: Foie Gras Milkshake: foie ice cream pureed with raspberries and poured into a shot glass with a salted caramel rim and garnishes with cocoa nibs Foie-lava: our take on baklava, this is a sphere of foie ganache dusted in pistachios and served on a bed of crisp filo threads. It is drizzled with burnt honey and accompanied by a salted apricot coulis Turbot: we aute the fish and serve it with a caper-raisin chutney, saffron polenta and rapini and finish it with a warm foie gras vinaigrette>/li> Chicago is one of America's pre-eminent culinary cities, boasting some of the best experimental restaurants in the country. So, Superchefblog asked Graham what he thought the foie gras ban says about Chicago: I feel that the city as a whole is sending out two different messages to the greater dining public: one is that we are coming into our own as a great, diverse food town, and second: we are the only city in the U.S. that dictates what you and your palate can enjoy. At the end of the day, most Chicago Chefs have enough creative depth to not rely too heavily on one ingredient, be it foie gras, caviar, truffles, etc. We can utilize our talents in other areas and achieve equally stunning results. But what concerns Graham more, and what should concern anyone who eats in America is the larger question of the food supply: This is an ingredient that 1% of the public consumes. We need to worry a little more about the standards regarding the raising of beef, dairy, vegetables, poultry etc. that the rest of the population is eating on a more regular basis. For a few weeks, Graham was the only chef to offer an opportunity to join in a gastronomic protest. Now, a groundswell of chefs and restaurateurs are following Graham's lead, according to New City Chicago: Fixture, 2706 N. Ashland, (773)248-3331: Five-course foie gras meal through June 30; $35 per person Hot Dougs, 3324 N. California, (773)279-9550: Serving up the Joe Moore Celebrity Sausage--Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle-Foie Gras Sauce Moutarde and White Truffle Cheese Meritage Café and Wine Bar Meritage Café and Wine Bar, 2118 N. Damen, (773)248-3331: Seven-course foie gras tasting menu on June 5; $85 per person One sixtyblue One sixtyblue, 1400 W. Randolph, (312)850-0303: Special foie gras menu offered through July 31 Bin 36, 339 N. Dearborn, (312)755-WINE: Chef's tasting on June 28 which will include eight to ten high-profile Chicago chefs cooking tasting portions of foie gras dishes * * John Caputo, executive chef of Bin 36, read this article and told Superchefblog later in the day that his restaurant should not be on the list because he did not commit to the date. Instead, he is helping to form a non-profit group to halt all future laws and special interest groups that try to limit how restaurateurs run their own businesses. As Graham says, "I do see the culinary community getting together to form a stronger, more uniformed voice to stand up for our beliefs." Superchefblog wonders: without the support of chefs, restaurateurs and diners, what else might disappear from our tables -- while the real problems in the vast majority of America's factory farms do not improve? Previous articles: Foie Gras War: Chicago Ban [Foie Gras War - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, foie gras --> back to superchefblog