The pate has the same taste and melting quality as its traditional counterpart, and can be roasted, fried, or poached. Cold servings on toasted brioche have been especially singled out for praise. The innovation follows seven years of product development by the Foie Royale team working with the Institute of Food Technology in Quakenbrück, Germany, to perfect the process. The final stage, the cooking, is the most crucial ensuring Foie Royale has a six month shelf life and can be served hot or cold.
Available in deli counters of selected branches from £7.50 a block, “Foie Royale is a great quality product which tastes almost identical to foie gras and we’re proud to be the first UK retailer to stock it,” says Waitrose buyer David Stone.
The business is owned by entrepreneur Mike Logut and manufactured by Gmt Gmbh in Germany.
The birds are raised ethically on farms there with freedom to roam outside from an early age. Each bird is fed naturally and has a minimum of 25m² throughout their life. Safely settled in barns at night they do not have experience any wing or beak clipping.
A natural sized liver, such as the ones these birds have, is approximately 65 grams. The liver in a bird raised the forced foie gras way is roughly eight times larger.
Waitrose has not sold conventional foie gras for the past two decades due to ethical concerns. German and Dutch governments contributed to developing the new product.
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