BLANCHARD'S BANDWAGON

Looks like our old pal Paul Blanchard from York, England is becoming a bit of a celebrity in animal rights circles over in the UK.

The Press of York reports that two of Britain's major groups, the RSPCA and Viva, have put their weight behind Blanchard's efforts to ban Foie Gras not only in the city of York - an effort that has failed miserably (if only Chicagoans could be so lucky) - but in all of the United Kingdom.

FoieBlog is not surprised by this development, as it is a no-lose situation for the veggie-killers, but it could throw some weight behind Blanchard's so-far anemic effort to collect signatures for his petition - 4,763 as of now in a nation of 60 million. FoieBlog is pretty sure that we could get that many signatures to ban tap water.

Nevertheless, until influential members of the recently revived British culinary scene step up to support the continued availability of Foie Gras, it's far from impossible that Blanchard's campaign could catch fire. This is a nation that has already blindly banned the production of Foie Gras, so it's not too far of a stretch that inaction on the part of foodies could lead to the UK restaurant scene back into the abyss of boiled meats.

So when you head to 8 York Court, Wilder Street in Bristol to protest outside of the Viva, drop by the Picture House restaurant and let us know how the Maple Glazed Pork Belly with Sauteed Foie Gras, Apple Jelly and Calvados Jus is. Any dish combining the independently magical ingredients of Pork and Foie Gras is worth going out of your way for, and if you can do a good deed by giving the Viva folks a piece of your mind in the process, then bully for you.