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Prue Leith under fire for making omelette with rare eggs

5th June 2008, 10:50am

Prue Leith, cook and chair of the School Food Trust has upset the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, after using rare Canadian Geese eggs to make an omelette.

According to the Telegraph, Prue said: "Four of us had the most delicious omelette from Canada Geese who nest near my pond (and no, I didn't take all the eggs) with the combined leftover salads from yesterday's lunch - a lentil and tomato one and a coleslaw.

"I mixed them together with a handful of fresh parsley and chives from my herb pots outside the kitchen door. And we had stale ciabatta, refreshed (in other words dampened and rebaked) and served hot, with olive oil to dip in.

"If I hadn't learned to cook I wouldn't have had the confidence to make that lunch. I wouldn't have been looking eagerly for Mrs Goosey Gander to lay her eggs. I wouldn't have guessed that cabbage and lentils would be a great combination."

A spokesman from the RSPB said: "It is illegal to take wild birds' eggs just for the purpose of making an omelette. If the person can prove that the birds were causing a public health and safety risk, an air safety risk or damage to crops or water then it would be legal to take their eggs or kill them."

Taking wild bird eggs can attract up to six months in jail and a £5,000 fine.

Canada geese were first introduced to the UK in the 17th Century and there are now 82,000 adult birds. They are often seen as a nuisance, flooding parks and forcing out native species.

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05 Aug 2009 - Prue Leith to retire from School Food Trust

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