DC just voted to ban foie gras, and Butterworth's Bart Hutchins says he'll keep serving it anyway

DC just voted to ban foie gras, and Butterworth's Bart Hutchins says he'll keep serving it anyway

The vote wasn't close. Initiative 86 passed with over 73 percent of the vote on November 3, following a campaign by Pro-Animal DC that collected a record 31,726 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. By any measure, DC diners have spoken. And yet, at Butterworth's on Capitol Hill, the foie gras is still on the menu.

Bart Hutchins is the chef and owner of Butterworth's in Washington, D.C. He has been the loudest, most visible opponent of the ban since before it was even a ballot question. He held a protest tasting menu. He wrote op-eds. He took the heat, a lot of it. "I get death threats and stuff. I get letters to the restaurant, I get letters to my house, I get people following me to my car," he has said. None of that changed his position. Neither did Tuesday's election results.

Hutchins tells Eater he is "unmoved" by the ban's passage, adding: "Logistically I'll be supporting Hudson Valley Foie however I can with their legal efforts."

That legal fight is real. New York producer Hudson Valley Foie Gras has told Axios it is gearing up for a legal fight in DC. Hudson Valley Foie Gras, one of America's two major producers, is already consulting attorneys about challenging the ban. There are legitimate grounds to watch: DC's chief financial officer estimates it would cost $314,000 to implement the ban over four years, and enforcement is an open question. One DC chef, who currently serves foie gras and asked to remain anonymous, says he isn't convinced the city will get it together to actually enforce the law: "They don't have enough inspectors to do a health inspection."

What the law actually does

Initiative 86, called the "Prohibiting Force-Feeding of Birds Act of 2026," prohibits the sale and distribution of fattened-bird-liver products, as well as the practice of force-feeding birds to enlarge their livers, within the District. The ban goes into effect July 1, 2027. That gives restaurants about eight months.

The penalties are real on paper. Restaurants and retailers that violate the law could face fines ranging from $1,000 to $5,000, while repeat offenses could result in the suspension of a business license. The law also prohibits bringing fattened bird liver products into DC for sale, distribution, or other commercial purposes. So importing around it is out, too, at least in theory.

According to Pro-Animal DC, approximately 50 local restaurants have the French specialty on their menus, including Lutèce, Mallard, The Occidental, and Pastis DC. DC's critically acclaimed chef Ryan Ratino declined to comment on the ban and its impacts on his Michelin-starred French restaurant Bresca, where foie gras and duck have played a starring role since opening nearly a decade ago at the top of Logan Circle. Foie gras terrines on brioche for two are a luxe add-on to his $145-per-person seasonal tasting menus.

Butterworth's, center stage

Of all the restaurants that stood to lose something from Initiative 86, Butterworth's became the story. Foie gras is Hutchins's favorite ingredient and a fixture on the menu, used in his tartare presentation, to mount sauces, as a pâté, and even for ice cream. Before the vote, he created a four-course foie gras tasting menu priced at $150 per person as a protest against the initiative. He called it a send-off. He clearly did not mean it.

Hutchins's argument was never purely about one ingredient. He argues that foie gras should not be singled out from other animal products and that chefs and consumers should be able to make their own decisions. He points to the biology: ducks and geese gorge themselves in the wild, biologically programmed to fill up their livers like fuel tanks before migration. The advocacy group sees it differently. Pro-Animal DC argues on its website that "ducks and geese are still being force-fed until their livers become diseased, all for an expensive dish served at fancy restaurants."

The industry, broadly, was not enthusiastic about wading in. Hutchins voiced disappointment that more of his gastronomic competitors did not speak out against the proposed ban. The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington issued a statement expressing concern "for the precedent [the ban] sets for government deciding what restaurants can serve and diners can choose." That's as far as most went publicly.

What happens next, and where you can still eat it

Several things have to fall into place before July 1, 2027. The DC Council still needs to fund enforcement. The DC Council has to come up with over $300,000 to put the ban into motion. Legal challenges from Hudson Valley Foie Gras could delay implementation further. And at least one chef has already signaled he's read California's history: he says he's still eaten foie gras in California, even though the state's ban has been in effect since 2012.

Hutchins is not waiting around to see how it shakes out. He has vowed to continue to serve the appetizer made from fattened duck liver for the next decade. "If the council wants to explain to its citizens that foie police is worth skimming the budget for schools, its roads, or whatever. So be it. But I think it's extremely unlikely," he says.

For anyone who wants to exercise their current legal right to order a torchon or a seared lobe before the clock runs out: diners can still cross into Virginia or Maryland for foie gras regardless of what happens in court. And if Hutchins gets his way, they won't even need to leave the District. The foie gras ice cream at Butterworth's has not yet been announced as off the menu. The tartare, as of this writing, is still on.

Sources

• City Cast DC, D.C. Votes to Ban Foie Gras From Restaurants
• Washingtonian, DC Votes to Ban Foie Gras. Now What? (Jessica Sidman)
• Axios Washington DC, D.C. poised to ban foie gras. A costly legal battle is brewing.
• Eater DC via Yahoo, D.C. Voters Ban Foie Gras, When or Will It Actually Go Into Effect?
• WUSA9, Au revoir foie gras: DC votes to ban force-feeding ducks
• Washington Post Opinion, Why I'm proud to serve foie gras (Bart Hutchins)
• Reason, D.C.'s Proposed Foie Gras Ban Is Built on a Lie