On Tues. Oct 27th the CIA meat room and the Gourmet Society hosted a demo and tasting conducted by Rougie Foie Gras. Rougie is the largest producer of Foie Gras in the world and they have an extensive operation now outside of Montreal, Canada. Benoit Cuchet, President of Rougie Canada and Lisa Petrucco, area manager for the US joined us for a tour, dinner and then presentation and tasting for the student body. Rougie had very generously donated 20 lobes of Foie which arrived on Fri. The Gourmet Society, with some help and explanations from Chef Rapp, Chef Martini and the meatroom MIT Steven Bookbinder, prepared over 150 taste portions each of Torchon and seared foie for the sampling. The students did a very fine job of preparing and serving the portions. The teamwork was great and it showed, once again, what a great organization the Society is.
Before the demo I took Benoit and Lisa for a tour of our facility including the baking and pastry classes. It is always amazing to see the craftsmanship going on in classes all over campus. We then proceeded to have dinner in the Escoffier Room. Chef DeCoster was a wonderful host and treated us to some of his Foie terrines. The meal was superb and instructor Miller's front of the house crew was quality as well. Our guests were impressed by the professionalism displayed.
Benoit's lecture and powerpoint were well received by all who attended. He was very informative, presenting the history, nutritional info, and describing the Rougie way of fattening ducks and how it differs from other producers. He held the attention of students throughout the demo and it was interesting yet concise. On closing, students asked some very valid and pointed questions which made the demo that much better.
Thanks to all involved and to all who attended but especially to Benoit and Lisa for providing the wonderful taste. http://www.rougie-professional.com/
Don't ya get just a little uncomfortable around foie gras?
ReplyDeleteAs one who raises poultry in a highly ethical manner I just can't partake or recommend.
I've toured the farm up in Quebec and they only feed the ducks heavily for ten days,thats it. They are mature ducks about 22weeks old that lived outdoors. Its different than a lot of the large poultry producers. I raise chickens myself and I have issues with a lot of what goes on at the large level but this is a niche market thing. All of the waste is sustainably spread, no pre-emptive antibiotics, all vegetarian diet. I know its a confined bird and a huge liver but its only for a short time and better than most large scale poultry out there.
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