Hermosa Beach Restaurant Serves Foie Gras In Defiance Of State Ban

HERMOSA BEACH (CBS) —  There's a ban on the sale of foie gras in California but at least one Hermosa Beach restaurant is challenging the law by serving the delicacy -- but not charging for it.

Foie gras is still flying out of the kitchen at Hot's Kitchen In Hermosa Beach, reports Carter Evans for CBS2 and KCAL9.

Five days after the ban went into effect, this eatery still has foie gras on the menu. And they're facing a fine of up to $1,000 a day for serving it. Maybe.

Chef Sean Chaney says no one is enforcing the law. And he adds, "I don't think in my eyes we're breaking the law."

He may have a point. The law bans the sale of foie gras. The fois gras on this burger is gratis. "If you choose not to have it on the burger, it costs the exact same as if you choose to have it."

If it seems like Chef Chaney is trying to make a point, that's because he is.

Evans reports Hot's is joining with foie producers and suing California, because they say the law is too vague.

Chaney says, "It basically says Im not allowed to serve ducks that have been over fed by the time I get the duck. Well, I don't know if it's been over fed. I didn't follow the duck thru its life."

Supporters of the ban say cultivating ducks for their livers is cruel, because ducks are force fed to make their livers fatty and more flavorful.

The law describes force feeding as anything "that causes the bird to consume more food than a typical bird of the same species would consume voluntarily."

And while the law may be vague, everyone still has an opinion.

Chris Jacobson had a good talk about the law with his friends over the foie gras he ate this evening.

And debate or not, it's not like he has to have it. "No knowing the background and the whole process I can deal with trying something else," he says.