Gourmets cull bird dishes
2005-10-27 22:21
London - A French restaurant in London reacted to fears of bird flu on Thursday by withdrawing from its menu all dishes of chicken, game bird as well as raw and half-cooked eggs, its chef Alexis Gauthier said.
"It was not an easy decision for a gourmet restaurant, especially during the hunting season and at a time when we have grouse and partridge," the 32-year-old chef at the Roussillon, which rates one star in the Michelin Guide, told AFP.
"But we had to stop as a precaution," Gauthier said, adding that the restaurant was also forced to withdraw goose liver pate as well as all dishes with raw and half-cooked eggs, such as souffles.
Gauthier said he was acting as a family man. "We are the first to take this decision, but I think we will not be the last."
A parrot imported to Britain from South America died from a virulent strain of the H5N1 bird flu while held at a quarantine centre last week, officials confirmed on Sunday.
However, government officials said Britain was still listed as free of the disease, which can also kill human beings, because no birds had been found with the virus outside of quarantine.