A Lichfield delicatessen owner is cooking up controversy after putting foie gras on the menu. Richard Glass, who has a deli at Bromley Hayes Garden Centre, Riley Hill, is flying in the face of hard-hitting campaigns, including an Early Day Motion calling for a ban on the sale of foie gras in the UK. Foie gras is already banned from being produced in Britain amid claims that "cruel" methods are used to produce it. Mr Glass, who also owns Taste restaurant in Station Street, Burton, is advertising his foie gras ice cream dish as a "new food experience for customers." He calls it the "classic, yet innovative, dish Foie Gras - but not as you would normally see it". And he describes the ice cream as "deliciously creamy" with an "excellent" flavour. But he appears to be courting controversy. Justin Kerswell, campaign manager for Viva! (Vegetarians International Voice for Animals), told the Post: "Serving foie gras as ice cream is trivialising the pain and suffering of the ducks and geese that are force fed so violently. "We don't believe any gastronomic delight deserves that much pain and suffering. We don't see how anyone can justify it." Big retail names like House of Fraser have already stopped selling foie gras on ethical grounds. Heather Mills-McCartney, patron of Viva! is backing campaigns to make Britain "foie gras free". Viva! is also planning a day of action on December 15, during which campaigners will be asking people not to buy foie gras. Meanwhile, Mr Glass is telling customers that the dish will "challenge" their expectations of a starter. He added: "Those adventurous enough to try it really enjoy it." The dish is served at his restaurant with olive bruschetta and a balsamic syrup to cut through the richness. Mr Glass said: "Taste! has just received an excellent report from the Taste of Staffordshire Good Food Award judging panel in its first year of entering and we are hoping that new dishes like this one will help us do even better next year." One of the campaigns, banfoiegras.org.uk is asking people to lobby their MPs to sign the Early Day Motion calling for a ban on the sale of foie gras in the UK. Heather Mills-McCartney is quoted on the Viva! website as saying: "It comes from tortured ducks and geese, it's a product of disease and it costs a fortune but some people still drool and dribble over foie gras. It's obtained by imprisoning birds in cages so tiny they can't move, by forcing a pipe down their throats and force feeding them until their livers swell to ten times their natural size. There is always someone who's ready to excuse barbarity and cruelty and that's what those who eat it and those who sell it are doing. But there is no excuse and that's why everyone should back Viva!'s campaign to make Britain foie-gras free." Mr Glass told the Post: "There is evidence that foie gras was produced in ancient Egypt and has certainly been eaten for thousands of years. If you visit small foie gras farms in France you will see that the geese are kept as humanely as possible and, far from seeming traumatised, they will waddle over and wait for their turn to be fed. The important issue, as with all food production, is only to source your food from suppliers you can trust and whose animals have been reared humanely. Ethically and morally, I would rather eat foie gras from a reputable small scale farm than eat southern fried chicken from major fast food outlets." Mr Kerswell said Viva! was writing to restaurateurs asking them to show a little kindness, particularly in the run-up to Christmas, and to take foie gras off the menu. He added: "It is a real shame to see foie gras on the menu in any shape or form." | 
