Let Them Eat Foie

Ludo Speaks on His Foie Gras Swan Song With Jon and Vinny at Son of a Gun

Ludo's last stand?
Ludo’s last stand? Photo: Mathieu Bitton

Ludo Lefebvre continues his romance with Animal chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo with two final nights of foie-feasts at the chefs’ Son of a Gun this Sunday, May 20 and Monday, May 21. Shook sets the table for what just might be a swan song in terms of the chefs cooking with foie together in L.A. for a while to come, telling Grub Street, “This my last foie dinner and we have saved the best for last: Seafood and foie!” Preparing for the $175 six-course feast, at which Ludo will cook three dishes, the Burgundy-bred chef expresses disbelief and frustration that one of his most cherished ingredients may soon be snatched away. “I am French. Foie gras is a God given right, so I will fight for my right to foie. I love partnering with Jon and Vinny on my last group foie fight as they have same beliefs as I do and they are just really great people.” As you can imagine, the chef has completely different words for the protestors who continue to push buttons in their local fight to eliminate the delicacy.

“As we get closer to the ban, the actions and the tactics being used by anti-foie individuals is just appalling,” Lefebvre notes of protests like the one that disturbed diners at Melisse on Monday night. “The actions are a clear sign that they are uncomfortable with how the law was passed and it’s ability to remain in force.”

Foie terrine at Animal

The chef feels the foie gras issue comes down to one of choice and thumbs his nose at the intervention of authority, explaining, “There are so many important issues our government should be focusing on, but this is just part of a bigger problem and has to be addressed, we can’t have a few ignorant radical people influencing our government and telling us what we can and can’t eat.”

Ludo’s last stand for foie will find him cooking three dishes: Crab with foie gras chantilly, radish gelee, and Tabasco mayo, along with a poached and roasted foie with tuna, strawberries, and rhubarb, and a dessert of foie gras panna cotta, caviar, and caramel. Then sadly, the inventor of the foie gras croque and the foie quesadilla will have to either turn his inspirations towards another ingredient or another state.

Vinny Dotolo

Currently, a few reservations are still available for Sunday and Monday’s six-course seafood-and-foie smackdown at Son of a Gun and can be made at 323-782-9033 and over email. A portion of the nights’ proceeds is going to C.H.E.F.S.

Ludo Speaks on His Foie Gras Swan Song With Jon and Vinny at Son of a Gun