A WEYMOUTH restaurant has been criticised because it has put foie gras on its festive menu.

Sense in St Mary Street is offering the controversial delicacy pan fried in butter and served with broccoli as a starter.

Foie gras is produced by force-feeding geese quantities of food via a long metal pipe up to three times a day. The bird's liver becomes enlarged and is then marketed as a delicacy.

It is not produced in Britain but is still legal to import, and Sense owner Ali Ghamarian defended his menu item.

He said: "I supply it on demand. If people were not asking for it we would not be supplying it.

"We only have foie gras on our Christmas menu after which it will come off the menu. It is a matter of business."

But publisher Jude Brooks, of Trinity Terrace, Weymouth, does not share his view and has complained to the council.

She said: "As far as I know it is only Sense that is selling foie gras. I was dismayed to see it on their menu and wrote to the proprietor to let him know what's involved in its production and to ask that he remove it from his menu. Regrettably this has not happened."

She described the dish as 'torture in a tin' and said many people were opposed to it because 'its production is unacceptably cruel'.

She added: "York has already banned its sale and Brighton is also pushing to get it off its restaurants' menus.

"Local people have the power to end the sale of foie gras by not visiting establishments that sell this barbaric delicacy whereupon, hopefully, such establishments will cease to sell it."

She contacted borough councillors about the issue including Coun Brian Ellis, who said: "I do feel foie gras is produced by barbaric methods which have no place in a sensible society and I will be discussing the matter with environmental health officers."