A gourmet restaurant owner in Switzerland sparked controversy by serving up a number of recipes using human milk as an ingredient.

Hans Locher from the village of Iberg near the resort of Winterthur is offering breast-feeding women about 10 euros per litre of milk. He uses it to cook a variety of dishes, including breast milk soup, breast milk lamb curry and antelope steak with chantarelle sauce with breast milk and cognac.  He claims the recipes are the result of careful research and thoughtful experimentation, reports Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper.

However, local authorities are not happy with these culinary endeavours. Zurich’s food regulatory body and the Association of Swiss Milk Producers have threatened lawsuits against Locher and his donors.

However, the action faces an uphill struggle because of a lack of legislative guidelines on the use of breast milk.  However, the authorities argue that Locher cannot guarantee its safe storage and consumption.

Meanwhile, the chef says he doesn’t see any controversy in cooking dishes with human milk.

“The mother’s milk is the most natural thing in the world – how can anyone be against it? It is, after all, the first thing we taste and I see no reason why I should not include it in my menu,” he said.