Foie Gras

A rich, buttery, delicate slice of Heaven that has been served in French households for centuries on end. The picturesque valleys along the Dordogne River are famous for their culinary richness with farm-produced foie gras at the top of any local or visitor’s shopping list.
Belonging to the protected cultural and gastronomical heritage of France, it’s no surprise that 79% of the world’s foie gras is made in the country with 90% of producers residing in the Dordogne Valley.

The tradition of farming ducks and geese for foie gras is often a family affair in the South-West with old methods passed down from generation to generation to ensure a happy life for the animals and tasty end product for the consumers.
Many farmers in the Dordogne take pride in the stress-free life they give to their geese compared to other chemical-fed, factory-produced poultry that don’t have the luxury of a free-range upbringing. With farmers seeing through the whole process, from day-old ducklings to the meat delicacy sold on market stalls, the region’s perfect weather conditions allow for animals to spend their time outdoors and to be fed with local maize.

As a traveller in the Dordogne, the presence of foie gras is overwhelming but also opportunistic. Farmers who raise the geese are never more than a hillside away and are always ready to welcome strangers to the farm to look for themselves. For those still sitting on the fence, a visit to a farm like La Campagnoise should put your mind at ease when greeted by flocks of birds waddling around a yard of tall grass, cooling themselves in the shade of walnut trees.

Once the process is over, it would be wrong to leave any wastes: the liver, of course, for the various forms of foie gras, the breasts or ‘magrets’ are sold fresh or dried, the giblets are confited (cooked and preserved in the duck fat) as are the legs and wings.