Triangle NewsA chef in an upmarket restaurant has sparked outrage after he waved the bodies of two dead ducks in the face of an animal liberation group.
The incident occurred when protesters marched into a Michelin Star restaurant in London to object against the force-feeding of birds to produce ‘luxury’ meat – in a practice known as foie gras.
Campaigners stormed into The Square in Mayfair, London, to protest the ‘horrific’ practice, but were soon stopped in their tracks when the restaurant’s top chef waved the dead ducks in their faces.
Triangle NewsFoie gras is an extremely controversial ‘luxury’ food product whereby a ducks or geese are force-fed with more food than they would voluntarily eat, making their livers expand and swell to many times their normal size.
The Square prides itself on providing ‘modern haute cuisine’ and has been known to serve the controversial food.
Its website describes the restaurant as ‘elegant’ and ‘luxurious’, stating:
The Square aims to provoke, surprise and delight. In an evolutionary approach to modern haute cuisine, Chef Clément serves artistic dishes with inestimable flair.
As members of Direct Action Everywhere (DXE) entered the restaurant to protest against the practice, a chef – believed to be executive chef Clément Leroy – proudly waved around the two dead ducks, which still had their feathers on.
Triangle NewsDisgusted members of the animal rights group chanted, ‘it’s not food, it’s violence’ as they exited the restaurant. They also held placards which said the same thing.
One activist said:
This guy seemed to be proud of the cruelty involved. He was waving dead bodies around far from the food preparation area.
I’m sure local food safety officers will be interested in his actions.
The group also protested at So Japanese restaurant in Soho, as well as Fortnum and Mason – both of which sell foie gras.
Triangle NewsDXE describe themselves as ‘an open source platform that empowers activists across the world,’ who ‘openly rescue animals in captivity, exposing violence behind closed doors’.
A spokesperson for DXE said:
DXE is a worldwide animal rights organisation which promotes peaceful protests to wake society up to the cruelty and suffering involved in meat, dairy, fish and egg production.
We aim to awaken people’s compassion in order to bring about a vegan world.
UNILAD has contacted The Square for comment.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).