Foie gras, the delicacy beloved by gourmands and protested by animal rights activists, may be off California menus by next summer. SB 1520, which bans force-feeding of ducks or geese to make foie gras and forbids selling foie gras produced that way, takes effect in July 2012. It was signed into law in 2004 by then-governor Arnold Schwarzeneger.

“When the ban comes in, we're going to serve it every day,” chef Laurent Quenioux tells Bloomberg. “They can send me the foie gras police.”

Some chefs, like Thomas Keller, are resigned to the ban, while others vow to band together and fight the ban via legal challenges in the courts. A similar foie gras ban was passed in Chicago then lifted in 2008 at the urging of Mayor Richard Daley.

In the meantime, cook it, if you got it. Here's a recipe for foie gras fingerling potato chips and a behind-the-stoves look at how chef Ludo Lefebvre makes his fabulous foie gras cupcake.

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