It is the Egyptians who discovered the foie gras around 2500 B-C. The Egyptian hunters along the Nile noticed that the liver of the geese were bigger, paler and much tastier during the migration period than the rest of the year. They understood that particular liver was produced by the geese because they were overfeeding themselves before their migration. The migratory birds have the genetic capacity to stock in their liver the surplus of food eaten. Then, the liver acts as an energy tank from which the bird will take its energy needed for its long and tiring journey.

The Egyptians particularly appreciated the taste of the foie gras, but since it could only be obtained on a very short period of time, they decided to reproduce that natural phenomenon themselves all year round. They started to feed geese with figues, in order to get a tasteful foie gras. Later on, the geese will be replaced by ducks and the figues by corn.

The Jews were the first to develop the art of feeding. In fact, in Central Europe between the 13th and 18th century, they were known for their foie gras of high quality and impressive size. But it is the French who contributed to grow the popularity of foie gras by improving the feeding technique. It is also the French who developed the different ways of cooking foie gras that are known today. The foie gras torchon style, the bloc of foie gras and the mousse of foie gras are recipes that have been developed by great French chefs. Over the years, the French developed a passion for foie gras that they communicated to everyone.

Alsatian foie gras, the liver of force-fed geese, was invented by Jean-Pierre Clause, chef to Marshal Contades, the military governor of Strasbourg from 1762 until 1788. Since the Roman legions arrived in Alsace and began using geese to guard farms, no one has been able to resist foie gras, so meltingly soft and tender that a single bite has been know to make a grown man cry.