Where to buy foie gras when living abroad

In France, it’s not so easy to buy good foie gras, but abroad the situation is completely different and it’s often impossible to buy good foie at least at a reasonable price. 

Here are some ideas to help you: 

At a French restaurant 

This is the easiest solution. So long as you live in a big city where there are French restaurants and you can afford them. Because French restaurants often are very expensive and it’s not unusual to have to pay around 60 euros for a starter such as an escalope of foie gras for example. 

Foie gras at a delicatessen 

Here also, if you live in a large capital city such as London or Tokyo, you might go to Harrod’s or a “Printemps” shop or a Galeries Lafayette. The prices are generally very high, but you will be able to treat yourself buying foie gras. Likewise, in most big cities abroad it’s possible to find a French or perhaps Italian delicatessen.  

Likewise, in most big cities abroad it’s possible to find a French or perhaps Italian or Spanish delicatessen. The latter will definitely offer foie gras, especially around the Christmas Holidays.   

Foie gras on the internet

Type the word "foie gras", surf… and compare. 

You can find good foies gras and other more exotic products, especially on online market places like Ebay, Alibaba or Amazon. The more the product is explained in detail, the more we can suppose that the seller knows the products that he is selling.  

There are hundreds of brands of foie gras and the same product is often sold under different brands, so it is impossible to know all of the different foie gras on offer.  
 
Be careful with grand sounding names that are often hiding cheap products: “supreme de foie gras”, “délice de foie gras” and "foie gras mousse" contain foie gras but also lots of other products like duck meat or fat or pork or pork fat, as well as colourings and preservatives.  

3 pieces of advice to help you choose your foie gras

A label such as the IGP (indication Géographique Protégée), Label rouge or Oie du Périgord is always a plus to take into consideration. Not an absolute guarantee, but an additional chance of finding a good quality foie gras. Avoid the label “Origine France” which doesn’t mean anything specific. Likewise, a medal from the Paris Agricultural Competition, especially a Gold Medal is clearly to be taken into account.                   

Read the product’s ingredients and flee foies gras that contain alcohol like Port or Armagnac which is usually there to hide the product’s mediocre quality and foies gras that contain colouring, preservatives or other additives. 

Include the delivery price when considering the overall price and make sure that the seller respects the norms of the cold chain if you wish to buy fresh or half cooked foie gras.