The production or sale of foie gras, the liver of ducks or geese fattened by forced feeding, has been illegal in the state of California since July 1, but one restaurant, Hot’s Kitchen in Hermosa Beach, still serves the dish. However, the restaurant claims it doesn't sell it. Rather, the banned dish is listed on its menu as a complementary side with the order of a hamburger.

PETA, the 3 million member animal rights organization, filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday for violating the state Health and Safety Code.

Jeff Kerr, PETA’s general counsel, said of the restaurant’s actions, “It's a childish and transparent attempt to evade the law." 

He said that serving foie gras as a complementary side was “a sale, plain and simple. Period.” 

 According to Reuters, a spokesperson for Hot’s Kitchen countered, "Publicity stunts such as the filing of an outrageous, baseless lawsuit, followed by the issuance of press releases are nothing more than an attempt to exploit the media by stoking controversial flames and are designed to line the pockets of profiteers."

Hot’s Kitchen also said that it has not yet been served with a lawsuit and will wait until then to make any further comment.

Hot’s Kitchen has been active in the fight against the California foie gras ban, having previously sued the state unsuccessfully to overturn the ban.

Numerous restaurants oppose the law, and some restaurants, not just Hot’s Kitchen, are defying it.

Steve of Redondo Beach, who declined to give his last name,  had lunch at Hot’s Kitchen and enjoys foie gras. He said of the ban on the delicacy, “Don’t kid yourself. These chefs aren’t going to give up their foie gras.” 

Steve added that he worked in the luxury hotel business and believes that “there is foie gras in every luxury hotel in this state.”

Other California restaurants have actively fought against the ban. Antoine Price, the owner of Café Mimosa in San Clemente, said, “I was one of the very few restaurants who stood up to the ban. I did a seven-course foie gras tasting menu the day after the ban.  My restaurant was filled with supporters.”

Price added, “I still have customers who to this day come over and ask for foie gras.”

Diners at Hot’s Kitchen were supportive of the restaurant’s defiance of the ban. One anonymous patron lamented about the ban on foie gras, “It’s a pity. It’s delicious!”

Caitlyn Frazer and Hayden Haas are fans of Hot’s Kitchen and have ordered the hamburger with a side of foie gras before. 

“I think PETA goes after a lot of shit they shouldn’t," Frazer said. "They have so much more to go after than a restaurant serving foie gras.”

Foie gras has been banned in 15 different countries because its production involves force-feeding birds in a way that activists consider cruel and abusive. Feeding tubes with a mixture of corn and fat are forced down the birds’ throats, or are inserted through slits made into their esophagi. Their livers fatten to up to 10 times their normal size, which can sicken the birds to the point of death. Kerr described foie gras as “inherently cruel, the product of blatant animal abuse.“

A chef at Hot’s Kitchen, Sean Chaney, disagreed. He told NBC, “Foie gras can be made humanely, and we continue to provide our customers with wholesome and humane animal products."

Goose and duck liver can also be grown without forced feeding, but such a product is not considered foie gras because it is not fatty enough.

PETA strongly opposes the way that ducks and geese are treated by foie gras producers and has been working against foie gras for years, investigating producers and lobbying for it to be pulled from menus. 

Kerr said, “The suit can be ended immediately if the restaurant agrees to stop illegally selling foie gras.  All the lawsuit asks for is that the court stop them.”

 

Read more Neon Tommy stories about PETA here. Read more Neon Tommy stories about animal rights issues here.

Reach Staff Reporter Axel Hellman here.