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.”
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.