It’s amazing just how much publicity a chef can get when he announces that he’s serving horse meat. Of course, it’s not all good publicity, but there surely is a lot of it and the name of your restaurant becomes a household word. Monsu restaurant has certainly received much publicity.
It has also gotten the unwanted kind. After announcing horse meat was being added to the menu, Monsu and its owner, Peter McAndrews, were threatened. McAndrews owns five Italian restaurants and two sandwich shops, and apparently knows how to do some serious marketing.
“They called into the restaurant and said ‘You guys start cooking horses, I am going to blow up your restaurant,’” McAndrews told NBC10.com Friday. “You know it’s OK to boycott but when you threaten me and my family then we have a problem. There are a lot of different causes that are important, but for anyone to go to that extreme it’s disheartening.” Yet just talking about it gets you on TV and the name of your restaurant gets a lot of press.
People everywhere are getting inundated with this horse meat issue. What with the scandal brewing bigger every week in Europe, the Oklahoma state legislator proposing horse slaughter in her state, New Mexico just about to “christen” its own slaughterhouse, and now this fellow with his horse meat delicacies, everyone is getting curious enough to try it. When it comes to eating, people are likely to try anything. If countless people can turn a blind eye to animal suffering, and ignore the unmistakable slaughterhouse cruelties, then killing horses isn’t going to matter either.
McAndrews is working up his menu that he hopes will “help patrons feel more comfortable” trying horse meat. Wonder where he’s getting his horse meat? In Florida from the illegal horse butchers? From Mexico where they slice into a horse’s spine and butcher it alive? From Canada? From the little 4H girl whose parents can no longer afford her horse? Is Japan sending it here? I think I get it. It’s coming from Italy for now through his connections.
“We are going to start off with a few appetizers featuring the meat and then some pastas. We will do it as a test and see how it goes. This is a business; if it doesn’t sell then it won’t be on the menu,” he said.
“It’s slightly tough and tender at the same time but it’s still unique and has a unique taste,” he said. Are the TV-watchers of Bizarre Foods reading this?
The meat is high in both iron and protein. McAndrews says if you like liver you may enjoy horse meat too. This is getting better all the time. Don’t you love liver?
He believes as people evolve so will their palate. So, it is inundation, suggestion, and the subliminal. Try it, eat it, others are doing it. Don’t be left out. Eat horse meat. So what if it’s horse meat.
“I was just at the Kimmel Center last night for Star Chefs, featuring rising chefs in the city, and they served pasta with pig’s hearts. It was the biggest hit. Fifteen years ago it would even cut the mustard,” he explained. “I love horses. I love animals. The better you feed and treat an animal, the better it will taste.” Oh yeah!
So, will you give it a try? Not this author, thank you.
Sources: NBC Philadelphia, Paulick Report
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