DAVID LATT

Last week I was in London and Paris, writing an article for Peter Greenberg 's travel site. In Paris my friend Randa was my guide, taking me to her favorite markets and shops. My trip was a whirlwind of activity, walking miles every day, taking photographs, eating wonderful meals, tasting chocolates, cheese, and wines, and catching up with Randa. Paris was wonderful, but I was there such a short amount of time, I didn't have the time to sit in a cafe, enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee and while away the day talking.

I knew I was going to bring back food that would memorialize the trip. Stopping in Randa's favorite cheese shop, I wanted to take arm loads of cheese, but I consoled myself with large pieces of Comté and Gruyère . From Le Bon Marché I bought two jars of Rillettes de Canard aux Olives and a large bottle of duck confit. From  d'Aligre, a box of handmade chocolates.

Back in Los Angeles, it took me 3 days to get over a debilitating case of jet lag and when I did our friend and neighbor Norm invited me to join him at the Chef Gathering & Tasting Event .

Set up in the open-air courtyard of the Bel-Air Bay Club, the gathering was a celebration of fine food and wine. A who's-who of LA's gourmet chefs were there to taste generous offerings of foie gras from Rougi é , Gour met Imports amazing selections of cheese, smoked salmon and caviar from Universal Seafood, wines from W.J. Deutsch and Sons, Pommery champagne, and Yvan Valentin 's petit fours and hand-made truffles.

Following Norm's lead, I filled my plate with foie gras in every form imaginable, duck prosciutto, smoked salmon with caviar, a piece of Puits d'Astie (a sheeps milk cheese from the Auvergne that Gourmet Imports has just recently imported) and a slab of the very runny Snowdrop (a goats milk cheese from Boulder, Colorado

made by Haystack Mountain), petit fours, and handfuls of Yvan Valeni's truffles.

After we found a place to sit, Norm and I had the chance to enjoy the food, drink a glass of Pierre Sparr Pinot Blanc from W.J. Deutsch and Sons , return for more samples of the foie gras and cheese, and because his good friend Pierre Sauveget (Executive Chef, Bel-Air Bay Club) had joined us, a parade of chefs stopped by to chat. Finally I was enjoying my Parisian experience, albeit only half a mile from our house.

The Gathering & Tasting had a serious side. As Benoit Cuchet (VP North America, Rougié ) explained, we were being asked to lobby the California Restaurant Association to repeal the California law banning the sale of foie gras. For Benoit this wasn't just an issue for those who love foie gras, this was an issue of allowing chefs the freedom to cook as they choose, without legislative interference.

If you agree with the sentiments of the letter, please make it your own and mail it as soon as possible.

California Restaurant Association
Lara Diaz Dunbar
Senior Vice President, Government Affairs & Public Policy
621 Capitol Mall, suite 800
Sacramento, CA 95816

Request for California Restaurant Association Involvement in Modifying or Repealing California Legislation to Ban the Sale of Foie Gras

Foie gras is a classic and special ingredient, featured on the menus of many of California and the world's finest restaurants.

Produced by enlarging the livers of ducks or geese, foie gras has long been a target of the animal righs movement. In 2004, legislation passed that will ban the sale of foie gras in California on July 1st, 2012

The ban set a bad precedent, where special interest group was able to affect menu choices through legislation. We see that trend continuing.

As a menu item, an estimated $20 million annually is spent by California diners enjoying foie gras. Foie gras is distinctive and desired. The culinary scene is competitive nationally and internationally. California restaurants will lose reputation, clientele and money without foie gras.

Acclaimed chef and food writer Anthony Bourdain has said, "Foie gras is a primary color i the flavor spectrum that we use in the kitchen. It simply goes back to Roman times. To ask chefs to cook without foie gras is like asking a painter to not use the color blue."

As chefs and restaurateurs, we are concerned with animal welfare and the ingredients we serve our guests. In 2004, the California legislation came as a surprise. It focused a lot of attention on foie gras farming. Leaders of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) studied research available and inspected foie gras farms and rejected later calls to criticize foie gras production. Ongoing research by government agencies concludes that "activist claims are without merit."

Since the 2004 California legislation, legislation to ban foie gras has been considered and rejected in Michigan, Oregon, Illinois, Hawaii, New Jersey, Washington, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, and Massachusetts. Chicago banned foie gras sales but repealed the ban after a short time. In most of these efforts, state restaurant associations have been involved. In Chicago and Maryland, the most challenging areas, the Illinois Restaurant Association and the Restaurant Association of Maryland were the leaders challenging foie gras bans.

We respectfully request that the California Restaurant Association make the repeal or modification of SB1520, the ban on foie gras in California, a legislative concern.