When contacted by the Deseret Morning News, several Salt Lake and Park City chefs declined to be interviewed about foie gras for fear of being targeted by animal-rights groups — even though it was already off their menus.

But Zane Holmquist said he won't bow to protest pressure. At the Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City he sells "hundreds of pounds" of foie gras, he said in a telephone interview, calling it "one of the tastiest things in the world."

"They can protest all they want, and I'll be happy to chat with them about it," he said. "I do a lot of work with charities, and I find it horrible that people waste their energy worrying about what other people eat, when there are children going hungry in our state. If a restaurant serves something you don't like, don't go there or don't order it. I've been to the foie gras farm, and the geese are fine about it. They don't mind getting fat."

Jean Louis Montecot said his Park City restaurant, Jean Louis, hasn't yet been picketed, but he witnessed similar demonstrations as a chef in New York City.

"I think it's become a target because it's expensive and rare, and you are attacking rich people," he said in a telephone interview. "Why don't they protest the chickens that are raised stacked on top of each other? I think people have a misconception about how it is farmed. I grew up in France, and I know how it's farmed there. I've been in America 21 years, and they have good laws in this country. If they say it's illegal, I won't serve it. But it's not illegal."

Because it's so rich-tasting and expensive, foie gras is usually offered as an appetizer in small portions. Montecot said it costs his Park City restaurant $46 a pound. "So I have to charge $25 per portion," he said. "I'm not making a lot of money on it. I make more money on a breast of chicken."

Last July, SHARK sent letters to Utah restaurants known to serve foie gras and asked that they stop, along with a DVD called "Delicacy of Despair: Behind Closed Doors of the Foie Gras Industry." Several restaurants agreed with the request. Karen Olson said she didn't receive the SHARK mailing.

The group held weekly demonstrations in front of the Metropolitan, showing the video, passing out leaflets and chanting. According to a SHARK press release, many people were motivated to contact the restaurant and ask that the item be discontinued.

But Olson said on nights the group protested, foie gras sales actually went up. "They created such a hubbub that the guests wanted to try it to see what the fuss was all about, or they found the protesters obnoxious so they ordered it to spite them."