Ortolan — or the relationship of food to aesthetic, empathy, proximity. A half-formed reflection on something I know very little about.
I’ve often considered the relationship of consumption to empathy. I have always been particularly fascinated by birds and reading an article about the ortolan has led me to a few questions.
The ortolan, a songbird and classic (though now illegal) French delicacy, reaches something of a poetic end. To prepare ortolan correctly, you pluck out their tiny eyes out with a tiny set of tweezers, leaving the bird alive. Next, you feed the bird until it balloons to twice it’s original size. Last, you drown it in cognac just before you roast it. (more…)
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