California's ban on foie gras is over and chefs all over the state are putting the rich, delectable dish back on their menus.

Foie gras, or fatty liver, is shortened from pate de foie gras, a French-inspired delicacy made from goose and duck livers that are abnormally enlarged, often through force feeding. It was this "inhumane" method of producing the fatty liver that made it controversial, prompting the California legislature to enact a law in 2004 banning foie gras. It was implemented in 2012.

Like Us on Facebook

"I've been jumping up and down for about 90 minutes," Napa Valley chef Ken Frank told The Los Angeles Times. "This means chefs in California can cook with their favorite ingredient, just like chefs everywhere else in the world."

In overturning the ban, U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson upheld an argument by pro-foie gras groups called "pre-emption" which points out that the ban encroaches on federal laws, specifically the Poultry Products Inspections Act which regulates poultry products. Their previous argument that the ban interfered with interstate commerce regulation did not pan out.

The challenge on the ban was led by the Hot's Restaurant Group in California; Hudson Valley Foie Gras, a producer in New York; and Canadian foie gras farmers forming the Association des Eleveurs de Canards et d'Oies du Quebec.

"Speaking as a French chef, it is an important ingredient and part of the legacy of French cooking, so I am thrilled to be able to add it to the menus of Petit Trois and Trois Mec," said Los Angeles chef Ludo Lefebvre. 

"It has felt like a void for a couple of years, but I am an upstanding American citizen and did not want to break the law. I have already placed my order and as soon as I can get it, I will be putting seared foie gras on the menu at Trois Mec and a terrine on the menu at Petit Trois."

In a statement, animal rights groups vowed to appeal the decision: "The state clearly has the right to ban the sale of the products of animal cruelty, and we expect the 9th Circuit will uphold this law, as it did in the previous round of litigation. We are asking the California attorney general to file an immediate appeal."

Another group, the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, warns: "A line will be drawn in the sand outside any restaurant that goes back to serving this 'torture in a tin...And whoever crosses that line identifies themselves with gluttony that cannot control itself even to the point of torturing animals."

Tagsfoie gras, california, ken frank, judge stephen wilson, ludo lefebvre