It did happen and still does....!

WARNING - CLICKING ON THE LINKS GIVEN MAY LEAD TO "UNPLEASANT" IMAGES BEING SHOWN - IT'S THE READER'S OWN PERSONAL DECISION

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  This is a blog called "Gourmandise", but there are certain occasions when exaggeration and simple bad, disgusting taste and practices come into it as well.
When you've been a professional chef for over 40 years and are now enjoying your retirement, cooking for visitors, then I guess you could tell an awful lot of stories from your experiences through time, but that would be somewhat un-professional, and besides - might put some of you off going to that plush and expensive Restaurant where they have large "fresh" fish tanks, just full to the brim with trout, lobster,crayfish and other delicacies that were never meant to live together, half of them swimming "belly upwards" due to a lack of simple knowledge about keeping them - of course, even the dead ones are sold as "fresh".... I'm sure (in fact I know) that in certain of these plush places, if you look closely, you will actually find out that the so delicious "lapin" or rabbit in mustard sauce is actually nothing other than cat meat - in the same sauce!
Having researched the subject, and from my own experiences in the business, I have seen some pretty horrible images, and I'm not going to show you any, but I'll give you the link to the page concerned....if you DO go to look, it's your own decision!
Personally I don't recommend it, but I suppose we should all really know what goes on in some "highly civilized" countries, and some of them not so far away as you may think!
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&biw=1360&bih=603&gbv=2&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=cat+meat&oq=cat+meat&aq=f&aqi=g4g-m6&aql=&gs_sm=s&gs_upl=379366l382734l0l387571l8l8l0l0l0l0l273l1803l0.2.6l8l0
Personally I prefer to think of the domestic animals enjoying themselves searching in OUR places than us searching for food in their places, but there are certain central European countries, amongst others, small - very rich - full of tunnels and mountains -  where dog and cat meat is relished - is even occasionally shown on the menus (mainly OFF the Tourist beaten track).
It actually even goes further than that because the furs from these culinary offerings represent a secondary source of income, and are exported, illegally of course, within Europe, often by the Postal Services, who have a legal obligation to prosecute anyone doing so, but rarely - if ever - do!

With the enormous choice of beasts raised expressly to satisfy our extra ordinary appetite for dead cadavers I can honestly see no requirement for such offers.
I'm carnivore (and people tell me that even a Brussel Sprout screams when you wrench it off the stalk, or a rose screams when you cut it) but I have my limits, and it doesn't seem to me to be quite correct to stroke and caress pussy, before popping her/him into the pot, having skinned and sold the fur as some kind of winter woolly, for people who believe it to be mink or something.
Even that is bad enough, if not worse, because I'm not aware of the cadaver being utilised in the kitchens of the world (and - again I'm not going to show you the images, but if you wear animal furs - look here:
 http://www.choosecrueltyfree.org.au/fur.html   - this Australian but it's all over the world) Remember...

  and if that doesn't put you off, then ask yourself the following question......

and if you've got an answer, then tell us professional chefs just how you see yourself being presented, both on the menu and on the plate......and what price we should charge.....!

Bonne Appétit.......?
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mrlemarquis(iwmpop)    -   Vauvert,France   -     Aout 2011