5 Defining Moments in Foie Gras History

A 30-second guide to 30 years in food history: foie gras. Plus, a sampling of F&W recipes using foie gras as an ingredient (at right).

1984

Specialty-food purveyor D’Artagnan delivers the first American foie gras to André Soltner, chef and owner of four-star Lutèce in New York City.

1989

Hudson Valley Foie Gras opens in upstate New York; it soon becomes the country’s major producer of duck foie gras.

2003

Animal-rights activists in Mill Valley, California, outraged by alleged cruelty to ducks, vandalize chef Laurent Manrique’s home.

2006

Chicago City Council bans retail sale of foie gras, citing animal cruelty. Mayor Richard M. Daley calls it “the silliest law the City Council has ever passed.”

Plus: Noteworthy Chicago Restaurants

2008

Chicago City Council repeals the ban on retail sale of foie gras. “We’re going to paint the town with foie gras,” exults Didier Durand, chef of Cyrano’s Bistrot.

Published September 2008