A Michelin-starred restaurateur has created a vegan foie gras

A Michelin-starred restaurateur has created a vegan alternative to foie gras, and it will be available from his London restaurant from 1 June. Calling it ‘faux gras,’ French chef and owner of the Michelin-starred Gauthier Soho, Alexis Gauthier, has made a plant-based version of the original goose liver paté, in conjunction with plant-based chefs Bosh! and Peta, the US animal rights organisation.

The meat-free dish will be served as part of the restaurant’s wider vegan menu, and is made with lentils, shallots, walnuts, mushrooms and beetroot. These are blended together to form a pâté, which is then topped with vegan butter. Alexis, from Avignon, says he created the vegan dish as a “humane alternative” to foie gras, because the original dish is contentious as it is traditionally made from the liver of a duck or goose that has been fattened by force-feeding.

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Alexis has turned vegan and stopped serving real foie gras at his restaurant last year. His recipe comes at a time of increasing global support for vegan and plant-based eating, and coincides with a growing appetite for ethically-produced food from restaurant diners. "I’ve developed a recipe where I will have the same kind of texture, sensation, and deliciousness of foie gras without killing any animals, so no abuse involved," says Alexis.

He plans to offer a fully-vegan, eight-course menu at Gauthier Soho this summer alongside its general menu. He will also open central London’s first 100% vegan restaurant this summer, with a California-style café in Brewer Street, Soho. Called Back to L.A, it will offer a light seasonal plant-based menu of bowls and snacks, and will even feature a delicious bean and beetroot based ‘junk’ style cheeseburger and fries.

Please see the recipe for faux gras here and further information on Gauthier Soho is here.