Chateau Interfarm owner Sunthorn Ritviwat says he can only supply some 500kg of foie gras each month -- not enough for the Bangkok market.
But he's planning to increase output and improve quality on his sprawling farm, located near where thousands of Allied prisoners-of-war died at the hands of their Japanese captors while building a railway and bridge over the River Kwai.
A gourmet's heaven, a hell for animal welfare activists, Interfarm pens up 936 ducks in each of three concrete buildings where corn is stuffed down their throats via a metal pipe over 14 to 18 days of force-feeding. This balloons their livers to about four times the normal size.
The only luxury they enjoy is a pleasant temperature. Unlike France, where ducks may have to be sheltered from the cold, those in Thailand need air conditioning for protection against blistering heat.
"It should melt in your mouth like ice cream," enthuses Sunthorn, admitting not all his livers yet emerge with the goldenish color, soft texture and generous size of the perfect foie gras.
An agro-business veteran, Sunthorn took over the farm in 1997, seeking technical assistance as well as ducks from Grimaud Freres, a leading French poultry firm.
The farm was started five years earlier but went through two sets of French, Canadian and Thai owners. According to Sunthorn, the whole thing turned into a Gallic farce, with family quarrels, business bickering and one of the Frenchmen jailed for starting a side business -- growing marijuana.
"They fought before making foie gras," Sunthorn says.
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