The Human Milk Banquet

Once again, truth is stranger than fiction:

Chinese chefs will go to great lengths to please their customers and the unusual ingredient they are reported to be using of late seems to confirm that reputation.

According to local newspapers, a restaurant in southern Hunan province has started offering dishes cooked with human breast milk.

When the customers are having the human milk banquet, they can experience maternal love at the same time

Restaurant owner

Two dishes were offered for the first time on 25 January, featuring abalone and perch.

The eatery, in the provincial capital Changsha, is said to be hoping to expand to the town of Shenzhen - a booming economic zone, across the border from Hong Kong.

It plans to offer a banquet featuring 108 dishes made with human milk, which would cost in the region of 280,000 yuan (US$33,000), one report said.

The milk used so far is reported to have come from six peasant women who were still breast-feeding their children.

No details have been given on how much they were paid or how much milk was used.

'Maternal love'

The restaurant owner, who was not named, said he had been working on the idea since October and that the milk used in the dishes was safe and hygienic.

"Our opinion is that we should respect natural things," he said.

"When the customers are having the human milk banquet, they can experience maternal love at the same time."

However local journalists who were invited to sample the dishes reportedly refused on health grounds.

It was not clear whether using breast milk for cooking violated any laws.