Vegetarian Star

Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain is not exactly known for his love of vegetarian food. After all, the guy praises foie gras.

He likes vegetables, but prefers them “cooked in duck fat or bacon”.

But he is against fur and animal testing. So maybe that’s why vegetarians and vegans like him.

“You know, that’s something that has surprised me,” he said in an interview with MyDesert.com.

“The number of vegetarians or even vegans who come to my shows and books signings and are actually nice to me. I don’t get it.”

The folks at Hezbollah Tofu like to mimic his recipes without using animal products. Money raised through the events will go to an animal charity in his name, which he has no problem with. He’s for saving cute animals. He’s even for saving the ugly ones.

“I’m against fur. I’m not a guy who would hunt for sport, even though I know people who do it certainly. As far as testing cosmetics on animals, I’m totally against it. But obviously we have some fundamental differences in foie gras and medical testing and things like that. But who’s against saving cute animals — or even not cute animals? Nobody.”

But ah, let’s not forget that Anthony will be Anthony and when it comes to describing vegetarians, he really does have no reservations. From page 70 of his book, Kitchen Confidential:

“Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn.”

Be sure to get an autograph next time, little Hezbollah-like irritants.

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PETA UK

PETA UK held an early Valentine’s Day treat for the people in London.

Topless ladies, including model Monica Harris, (and one handsome shirtless chap) walked the streets giving out vegan chocolate and roses while urging everyone to “Have a heart,” for ducks and geese by encouraging the ban of foie gras in the UK department store Selfridges.

Foie gras, the delicacy PETA is currently having a contest to see what chef can make a faux version of, is produced when geese are stuffed to excess, causing their livers to swell. According to PETA UK’s blog, this is equivalent to stuffing 45 pounds of pasta down a human’s throat in one day. Seconds of rigatoni are great, but that’s a little extreme.

So the lovely ladies and man passed a car with an older gentleman looking out. Most definitely he’s staring so hard because he is so fascinated by animal rights and is excited to speak out against foie gras too. But because it’s so hard to read someone’s mind, we’d like to know what you think his exact thoughts are. For more pics, visit PETA UK.

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Charles Haynes on Flickr

Chef Michael Ginor of Hudson Valley Foie Gras in New York and author of Foie Gras: A Passion is weighing in on PETA’s The Fine Faux Gras Challenge appears to have a Gordon Ramsay split personality when it comes to creating a vegetarian version of foie gras and the challenge presented by PETA for chefs to do so.

He thinks it’s a great idea. But no serious chef would do it. It provides another option. But chefs aren’t supposed to make substitutions. An excerpt from The National Post:

I think it’s great. People should always have alternatives. I also think it’s ridiculous in a sense, because you can find substitutes for steak. It’s another vegetarian thing. It’s not going to be foie gras, it’s obviously another PR campaign to try and get people to not eat foie gras. They’re not going to find an alternative to foie gras because there just isn’t one.

Ginor then went on to say that he hasn’t been asked to enter the competition and “no serious high end chef would want to do this.”

No, a faux foie gras chef isn’t a hardcore chef. And chefs have better things to do.

Before you know it, there will be a substitution for quail, a substitution for squab and a substitution for steak. That’s not the point of a restaurant.

We already have substitutes for steak, chicken, pork, and the like. And what’s even more ridiculous is that these are served in restaurants. And prepared by chefs! Not only in vegetarian restaurants, but other dining establishments who recognize the growing number of vegetarians (an estimated 5.7 million U.S. adults in 2000-FindArticles – How many vegetarians are there? A 2003 national Harris Interactive survey question sponsored by The Vegetarian Resource Group
Vegetarian Journal, May-June, 2003) and growing.

Looking forward to hearing his response when he tries the winner’s faux foie gras. We’re sure it will probably be something along the lines of “It tastes the same, but no serious chef should ever admit it.”

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The Gothamist

PETA has thrown down the gauntlet to celebrity chefs. Come up with a vegetarian version of  foie gras and win $10,000.

What the heck is foie gras? Contrary to its spelling, it’s certainly not Astro Turf. Foie gras isn’t fake grass and there’s nothing fake about what geese endure after being so overfed, their livers swell, producing a delicacy that even some meat eaters are hesitant about eating due to the abuse issues.

Amanda Cohen, who recently opened a vegetarian restaurant called Dirt Candy, has a dish nominated by Fork in the Road:

“The portobello mousse at Dirt Candy is rich, earthy and intense, with a silky texture reminiscent of foie gras.”

Cohen was Moby’s first chef at Teany, a vegan restaurant formerly owned by the musician.

Of course, if you think you’re a star vegetarian chef waiting to be discovered, you can submit your recipe as well.

via Gothamist

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