founder early life

Izzy (Isser) Yanay was born and raised in Israel. After completing compulsory service in the Israeli Defense Forces, he pursued higher education – earning a B.A. in film & philosophy from the University of Tel Aviv and a B.Sc. in agriculture from Hebrew University’s agriculture faculty[1]. In the 1970s, Yanay applied this agricultural training to Israel’s fledgling foie gras sector. He became the field manager for what was then Israel’s largest foie gras producer, overseeing all aspects from breeding to feeding to slaughter[1]. This role gave him specialized knowledge of waterfowl husbandry and the traditional French technique of gavage (force-feeding) ducks and geese. Seeking new opportunities, Yanay immigrated to the United States in 1982[2]. At that time, foie gras was virtually unheard of as a domestic product in America – fresh foie gras could only be imported canned from Europe[3]. Recognizing a market gap, Yanay set out to establish the first U.S. foie gras farm. In 1982 he found backing from American investors and co-founded a farm (reportedly called Commonwealth Farms) to produce foie gras in upstate New York[4]. This became the first-ever foie gras production facility in the United States, and notably the first in the world to integrate the entire process – from breeding ducklings to processing livers – on one site[5]. Yanay later recounted that before this, “there were no foie gras production farms in the United States” at all[6]. He helped “develop a market for foie gras throughout the US and Canada that was previously non-existent,” essentially pioneering an American taste for the delicacy[5]. That initial venture proved Yanay’s skill in farming, but it wasn’t without hiccups. According to a Forbes profile, after he got the operation up and running profitably, internal disputes led to him being forced out[7]. This setback could have ended his American foie gras dream – but then he crossed paths with Michael Aeyal Ginor, a young Israeli-American businessman and food lover who shared his vision[7]. Ginor, born in 1963 in the U.S. to Israeli parents, had discovered foie gras while serving in the IDF in the late ‘80s[8][9]. The two met around 1988–1989 and decided to become partners.

Izzy (Isser) Yanay was born and raised in Israel. After completing compulsory service in the Israeli Defense Forces, he pursued higher education – earning a B.A. in film & philosophy from the University of Tel Aviv and a B.Sc. in agriculture from Hebrew University’s agriculture faculty[1]. In the 1970s, Yanay applied this agricultural training to Israel’s fledgling foie gras sector. He became the field manager for what was then Israel’s largest foie gras producer, overseeing all aspects from breeding to feeding to slaughter[1]. This role gave him specialized knowledge of waterfowl husbandry and the traditional French technique of gavage (force-feeding) ducks and geese. Seeking new opportunities, Yanay immigrated to the United States in 1982[2]. At that time, foie gras was virtually unheard of as a domestic product in America – fresh foie gras could only be imported canned from Europe[3]. Recognizing a market gap, Yanay set out to establish the first U.S. foie gras farm. In 1982 he found backing from American investors and co-founded a farm (reportedly called Commonwealth Farms) to produce foie gras in upstate New York[4]. This became the first-ever foie gras production facility in the United States, and notably the first in the world to integrate the entire process – from breeding ducklings to processing livers – on one site[5]. Yanay later recounted that before this, “there were no foie gras production farms in the United States” at all[6]. He helped “develop a market for foie gras throughout the US and Canada that was previously non-existent,” essentially pioneering an American taste for the delicacy[5]. That initial venture proved Yanay’s skill in farming, but it wasn’t without hiccups. According to a Forbes profile, after he got the operation up and running profitably, internal disputes led to him being forced out[7]. This setback could have ended his American foie gras dream – but then he crossed paths with Michael Aeyal Ginor, a young Israeli-American businessman and food lover who shared his vision[7]. Ginor, born in 1963 in the U.S. to Israeli parents, had discovered foie gras while serving in the IDF in the late ‘80s[8][9]. The two met around 1988–1989 and decided to become partners.