The traditions of French food date back hundreds of years to a time long before legendary chef Georges Auguste Escoffier brought new life to the rich cuisine. Many of these recipes have long included ingredients that are obtained from animals. Many people, however, don't eat these ingredients but still like to enjoy traditional dishes. And that's exactly why we need you.

Foie gras, French for "fatty liver," is made from the enlarged livers of male ducks and geese.

Fine-dining patrons around the world have chosen to forgo real foie gras because of the cruelty to animals that results from force-feedings as well as the poor living conditions and environmental concerns that stem from foie gras production. And many restaurants have pulled the product from their menus entirely.

But just because gourmets choose to skip this "delicacy of despair" doesn't mean they want to miss out on traditional French food. That's why we are calling on chefs around the world to use their skills to create the first gourmet, purely vegetarian faux foie gras.

PETA is offering a $10,000 prize to the chef who is best at creating a purely vegetarian foie gras that is as close as possible in taste, texture, and form to real foie gras. The winning recipe must be featured on a fine-dining menu.

A judging panel chosen by PETA will assess the prepared recipes based on palatability as well as similarity in taste and texture to real foie gras. Submissions will receive scores on a scale of 0 to 10 (0 denoting an unpalatable item that tastes nothing like foie gras and 10 denoting a delicious item that is indistinguishable from foie gras).

All techniques are acceptable for creating the dish. It can come from a page of Larousse Gastronomique or from a page in the molecular gastronomy playbook of Grant Achatz and Wylie Dufresne. Anything goes as long as it's 100 percent vegetarian.

And don't forget to take credit for your delicious dish! Think "Waldorf Salad," and name the recipe after yourself or your restaurant.

The grand prize of $10,000 will be awarded to one winner at an internationally publicized event, and two runners-up with the second- and third-highest scores will each receive $1,000 in kitchen equipment.

Read the complete rules and then submit your original recipe now!