Foie Gras is NOT French

Last week I broke the sad news that the croissant is not French.  I’ve got more troubling news for all of you Francophiles who love foie gras, a popular delicacy in France:  it is not of French origin!  Au contraire, foie gras actually originated in ancient Egypt.   In 2500 BC the Egyptians began deliberately fattening birds for culinary purposes through force-feeding.  This process then spread to Greece in the 5^th century BC, and then later to the Roman Empire.  It was actually the Romans who brought the process to France.

Today, France is the leading producer and consumer of foie gras in the world.  If you’re one of the lucky folks who have secured a seat on the SOLD OUT  September 2012 harvest tour to Bordeaux, you will visit a famous farm where foie gras is produced.  You’ll be able to view the process of force-feeding (controversial for some in the US but not so in most other parts of the world), and judge for yourself how you feel.