People who hated this might also hate: fattened buntings ("Fettammern" in german - this is not our tradition/culture, I want to add!). There is no article on this practice in the english Wikipedia, so here is a DeepL translation of the german article:<p><i>"A fattened ortolan is called a fat bunting.<p>The ortolan, a songbird about the size of a sparrow, is captured and fattened in the dark or after its eyes are removed for about 14 days. The darkness confuses the bird's day and night rhythms so that it eats constantly. It then reaches about three times its original weight. It is drowned in Armagnac and cooked in fat in a special small pot.<p>To eat, the bird is placed completely in the mouth and chewed. While doing so, the eater puts a napkin over his head. On the one hand, the napkin is to keep the scent close to the mouth and nose, on the other hand, it is considered more mannerly not to bother table neighbors with the sight and the resulting noise.<p>Ortolans were considered a delicacy even in ancient times. Since the population of ortolans has declined sharply and the bird is protected as a species, catching and eating it is now banned in Europe. In France, consumption is nevertheless widespread in wealthy circles.<p>Alternatively, other smaller songbirds are prepared similarly, as they are easier and cheaper to obtain. Animal rights activists see this as cruelty to animals. Depending on the state, this may also be a violation of animal protection law."</i>, from (german) <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fettammer" rel="nofollow">https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fettammer</a>, translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)