Foie Gras Fracas

The menu isn't set yet for the big Winterlude opening night dinner on February 4th. But one thing is for sure -- they won't be serving any foie gras.

Well-known chef Martin Picard was supposed to create the menu for the evening. He's the owner of Montreal's famous Au Pied de Cochon restaurant where foie gras is as common as ketchup is at McDonalds. But Chef Picard dropped out after the National Capital Commission bowed to pressure from the Ottawa Animal Defense League to take the delicacy off the menu.  

The NCC announced yesterday that chef Michael Smith will take over the kitchen and menu for that evening. And he will not be serving foie gras. But other chefs hosting Winterlude events are keeping it on their menus.

Michael Hay is one of the them. He is the chef of the Courtyard Restaurant in the Market, and he's hosting a Winterlude dinner on Feb 16th. We reached him at his restaurant on Tuesday to talk about the goose liver flap.