With Christmas now upon us executive chairman of Slow Food in the UK, Shane Holland, takes a look at why game is still not seen on menus at this time of year.

As we enter the last hurrah of Christmas services, my thoughts often turn from turkey - not to the traditional alternative of goose (though yes please to potatoes cooked in it’s luscious fat) but to Pheasant, Partridge and other game.

In menus which are now branded with “local” and “seasonal” as frequently as you see the words “mains” and “pudding”, we still see very little game on the menu. Game is perfect whether for the home cook, or the restaurant setting – its delicious, and perhaps the cheapest high quality meat about.

Pheasants come in at a couple of pounds a brace, the true cost having been paid by the person who shot them – the nasty truth of some shoots is that they have so little demand for the meat, that the carcasses or buried. I believe that if we kill a beast we have a duty to eat it, and should I ever be reincarnated I would much sooner come back as a Stag eating heather on a glen, than an intensively bred pig from overseas which often ends up in our supply chains here in the UK.

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For those that think game is very strong, most birds are flavourful in the same way an organic chicken has taste, indeed don’t worry about any further hanging. Treat venison much as you would treat beef – few things are nicer than Venison Wellington for that centrepiece on December 25.

So British, inexpensive, ethical, and sustaining our countryside – game should be on all our menus.

Shane Holland is Executive Chairman of Slow Food in the UK, the UK arm of the World’s largest food NGO. He frequently appears in the media and on expert panels speaking about a variety of issues. You can find out more about Slow Food at www.slowfood.org.uk

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