Thanksgiving Day

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Not So Gentle Thanksgiving Foie Gras Protest Followed by Gentle Thanksgiving Celebration

It is holiday time and a day to give thanks for what we have. At the James Beard House this means serving up just about any kind of animal imaginable. Our initial interest in the event at the James Beard House was the hosting of two guest chefs from Salt Lake City’s notorious Metropolitan Restaurant.

Some background: The James Beard House is located in a small brownstone building on a quiet side street across from St. Vincent’s Hospital at 167 W. 12th Street in the heart of Greenwich Village. They invite noteworthy and renowned chefs to cook their specialties for gourmet dinners. An invitation is considered an honor in the world of haute cuisine. Thanksgiving featured roasted leg of rabbit, guinea hens, crab and Hudson Valley Foie Gras. Jed Banta and Chad Horton are the two chefs that were invited from the Metropolitan to prepare the foie gras.

Activists arrived at 5:00 pm in order to greet the Beard dinner guests, who were arriving for a 6:00 pm dinner seating. Protest signs and voices were raised proclaiming the evil and cruelty that is inherent in the production of foie gras. As each guest arrived, they were given literature and asked politely to refrain from eating the foie gras. Literature included contact information for Karen Olson, Owner of the Metropolitan Restaurant at 173 West Broadway, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101. Phone number: 1-801-FOIE GRAS (Any idea why activists don’t like them?)

With only a couple of exceptions (see below), dinner guests told activists that they had no intention of eating the foie gras. Some cited health reasons, as they knew that foie gras is the diseased liver of ducks and geese that are force fed and that it is high in cholesterol. Others cited reasons of vanity, saying it was “fattening”….uumm, yeah it is. Others wrinkled their noses and grimaced as they told the protesters that they just didn’t like the taste of foie gras.

Choruses of “Jed Banta, Go Home”…..”Chad Horton, Go Home” could be heard from blocks away as 15 angry activists spoke out in defense not only of the ducks and geese; but, also for the rabbits, hens and crabs that lost their lives for this disgusting meal. Banta and Horton heard as well, since protesters could actually see into the kitchen, which was less than 25 feet away from the protest line. James Beard staff seemed petulant and annoyed and frustrated by their inability to do anything about the peaceful legal demo. Dinner tables were set in the front rooms of the 1st and 2nd floors, less than 15 feet away from loud and aggressive demonstrators.

The evening’s entertainment was provided by one dinner guest, who oddly resembled an over-inflated Daddy Warbucks blow up doll. When he was asked if he was going to eat the foie gras, he turned and said “Absolutely”. As he puffed and wheezed from the exertion of moving and speaking at the same time, activists laughed and told him the he came to the right place. When he had his coronary, he could be wheeled right from the James Beard House across the street and into the St. Vincent’s Coronary ICU. One activist wished the gent “bon appetit” and a quick and painful death from the inevitable heart attack that is sure to come.

More hilarity from a latecomer to the dinner, who had apparently started his holiday libations at an earlier time and place. He approached the protest line in a wavering line with a wineglass clasped perilously in hand. He waxed eloquently about helping people and freedom of choice while the activists were riveted to the sloshing wine in his glass and wondered what was going to hit the ground first, the wine or his pompous ass? No doubt WAR activists will make this spot a regular on their protest schedule.

Still laughing and feeling thirsty for some vegan refreshments, activists headed to Red Bamboo in Brooklyn, where they enjoyed each other’s company and gave thanks for a fine vegan cruelty free meal and the perfect venue for a Thanksgiving holiday protest. Our Gentle Thanksgiving celebration was memorable this year!

Our thanks go to F.A.R.M. for sponsoring “Gentle Thanksgiving” celebrations across the country and to the Salt Lake City activists that are naming and shaming the Metropolitan on a daily basis by mounting foie gras protests in front of their restaurant.