Foie gras ban unites Chicago chefs to protect customer choice

The next time you eat out in Chicago, don't be surprised if you are given a petition to sign with your meal.

Because that is one approach some chefs and restaurateurs plan to take as they build support for Chicago Chefs for Choice, a group formed in the wake of the City Council's recent approval of a ban on foie gras.

The group's message, says Chef Michael Tsonton, who started the group with Didier Durand of Cyrano's Bistrot, is simple - and it is not about foie gras, or any other particular food. ''It's about freedom of choice,'' Tsonton said. ''Why should someone tell us what we can or can't serve, buy or produce that the FDA puts its stamp on daily?''

Editor WorldPoultry