Ortolan

An ortolan is a tiny bird, 16cm (6 in) in length and weighing 20- 25 grams (3/4 oz). Popular in France and across Europe, where they used to be netted in great numbers, they were cooked whole on the grill or the spit, or alternatively, wrapped in vine leaves and roasted in the oven.

In France, the birds were traditionally fattened for three days after their capture and then drowned in cognac. When the roasted birds were brought to the table, the diners covered their heads and faces with a large napkin so that they could inhale the delicate vapours. Cloaked in privacy, they would eat the bird whole, crunching on bones and inner organs and swallowing the ambrosial fat.

European rules banned hunting of this bird in the 1970s; however, France only implemented the law in the late 1990s, leaving it to individual regions to determine both the duration of their own hunting seasons and which species may be hunted. Although now illegal across Europe, it is rumoured that some restaurants still serve ortolan; diners who want to indulge do so at the risk of being fined thousands of pounds, and are required to wear a mask to protect their identity.