Bird Snob: Chef Clark Raines on duck's versatility.

It's not that Chef Clark Raines of Maple Leaf Farms, won't eat chicken, he just doesn't find it as flavorful as the duck he labors over daily. "You know what chicken tastes like? Whatever you put on it," says Raines.

What Raines envies about chicken is how much of it is consumed. SNPM

SNPM: Why doesn't duck enjoy mass appeal?

Clark Raines: There are major misconceptions about duck: it's gamey and it's fatty and greasy. A skinless duck breast has less fat and calories than a skinless chicken breast, so you can imagine how much that hurts.

SNPM: Those notions had to come from somewhere.

CR: For gamey, people would have had a different breed of duck than we carry, or perhaps something full of buckshot their Uncle T.A. brought home in a tote sack. And it most certainly wasn't a true duckling. Maple Leaf Farms ducklings, which are fed an all natural diet of corn, soy and wheat, are mature at six weeks--no growth hormones, steroids or animal products. Age and diet make a huge difference.

SNPM: And the health aspect?

CR: People don't understand that the fat is in the skin, the meat doesn't contain more fat. Duck is prized for its flavor and the quality of its fat. It's high in monounsaturated and low in polyunsaturated fat. It's a good fat, and there's no other animal fat that comes close to the properties of duck. The closest vegetable fat is olive oil; our research indicates duck fat properties are closest to olive oil in omega 3 and omega 6.

SNPM: So your job is dispelling these ugly myths.

CR: Duck shows significant consumption growth--more than 35 percent from 1995 to 2004. And it warms my heart to see it on menus. Darden's Seasons 52 has been successfully menuing a Ponzu Duck Salad with shredded gourmet greens, jicama, almonds and toasted sesame dressing during the fall and winter for the past several years.

SNPM: What other opportunities do you see for duck?

CR: We're making duck easy and tasty. We offer a lot of value-added products for foodservice and retail. And what's good for foodservice is good for retail. As we demystify what to do with duck, we're seeing home consumption increase.

For more information, visit www.mapleleaffarms.com