Game on: on the hunt for ways to put game on the menu

The targeted birds are reared sustainably and their presence on the land tends to have an environmental gain, while their habitats are conserved. Moreover, their meat is some of the most nutritious and healthy around and in the right hands can be delicious. So why does it appear so rarely on restaurant menus?

It's a question that Jon Ball, co-owner of the Bulland shoot near Taunton is keen to address. He hosts guns (which is how those who shoot game for sport are known) at a converted barn in the beautiful Somerset countryside, and he has invested not only in the local environment, but also in the hospitality to ensure guests have a relaxing experience and enjoy the game at its finest. To that end he has recruited chef Paul Matthews, an Acorn Award winner with high-level experience in fine dining, working at the likes of Restaurant Associates, CH&Co and Vacherin. Since joining, Paul has been developing creative menus that highlight the diversity of game meat.

"Historically game has been hung too long, which doesn't suit people's tastes," Ball explains. "In years gone by pheasants were hung for a week to 10 days, but that makes it too strong. We're trying to educate people that it's a healthy, lean meat from birds that are well looked after. What we do shows that, with the right knowledge, the product can be fantastic.

"Most of our birds will go to the continent, which is a real shame. Game is affordable. Are chefs afraid of cooking it? Partly, chefs think it's aggravation and the concern is people won't eat it. The problem is that customers are scared away from it, as the last time they had game it had been hung for too long, having been left in the game larder for a week and had gone green."

Game plan

To highlight just how versatile game can be Ball has employed Matthews to serve his guns dishes that celebrate the birds from the shoot. Matthews, who was previously head chef at contract caterer Vacherin, found himself out of work prior to the pandemic and started his own consultancy business just before being spotted by Bulland shoot manager Glenn Shearing when he catered for a private dinner.

"I took the job in September and went straight into the shoot season, literally on my own," Matthews explains. "I've never been in the shooting industry before. It was a shock to the system, but it was just incredible."

While Matthews was used to preparing game in his city roles, he never had the luxury of hand-selecting the very best produce, alongside being given the opportunity to use it across an entire menu. When the guns arrive on the eve of a shoot, they are presented with a feast of game, including canapés such as crumpets with confit pheasant, smoked Cheddar curd, caramelised onions and crispy shallots; game scotch eggs; mallard tartare on a beetroot tapioca cracker; porcini and partridge crumble; and bacon butter-roasted pheasant with black truffle mash.

Meaty cooking

While employing all his classical training to draw the most flavour out of the meat, Matthews is also mindful of making sure the game is as fresh as possible, thereby not displaying any of the ‘funky' characteristics that some may associate with it.

"We defeather the birds ourselves and hang them for at least 12 hours, but we want to use them as soon as we can," he explains. "I like to use it after 12 hours but within 24 hours, as it's so much lighter in flavour and taste and it's more palatable. I think the meat has a strong enough flavour and it doesn't need to be aged. Now I use some processes where you I brine in buttermilk. It lightens it, takes away the gamey flavour and tenderises at the same time. We've been doing a lot of brining and curing, and it really helps with seasoning and the flavour."

Matthews falls back on his French training by cooking the meat on the bone and resting it on the crown, but he has also been experimenting with other processes that highlight the versatility of the protein. "I've been trying to use many techniques that I use with other meat, like buttermilk-fried pheasant, which is my KFC," he adds.

"I also make it into sushi and charcuterie and we make our own sausages. It's very similar to any other protein. But as far as what is best about it, there's limited carbon footprint, it's highly nutritious, full of protein, and there's no waste as we're using exactly what we want to use. And it couldn't be any fresher." While out on the shoot the guns stop for elevenses and are served game sausage rolls and broth. However, it is after a morning on Exmoor that Matthews really lets loose, serving pheasant pizza, partridge maki rolls and a Korean version of his buttermilk-fried pheasant alongside venison satay.

Every care goes into ensuring that the meat doesn't dry out and stays on the right side of gamey. "It's very delicate but suits different cooking. I do a combination of a confit pheasant leg and partridge leg that's been picked down and bound with a sauce or marinade that goes through the middle of a maki roll, or I sous vide a breast that's been cured and then that goes into the roll as well," he says.

"This is where marinating it in buttermilk works wonders. I debone the leg and leave it to marinate for two or three days in the buttermilk. It becomes even more tender, the flavour gets lighter and then it goes into the flour mix. It's exactly how you would do buttermilk chicken and we had in the summer on some of our crumpets – Korean buttermilk chicken. It has a slightly stronger flavour than chicken, but the buttermilk tones it down."

It's quite some spread and one that impresses even those that have been eating game for decades. "I was getting high praise when I was working for a law firm, but it would come through as an email," Matthews adds. "But I have received a lot of applause this season, because people are blown away by what we've done with the game.

"I'm already excited for next season. We're going to start building the team, as well as building the whole customer experience even more. I've just touched on it so far and there's so much more that I want to do to show just how versatile and tasty game can be."

Paul Matthews

Paul Matthews' career began as an apprentice at Roux Fine Dining, learning his trade under some of the finest in the industry. He then moved to Restaurant Associates where he held a number of roles, including playing a part in the launch of Roux at Parliament Square in London.

"I was working for a law firm with Vacherin for two years," he explains. "Then I received my Acorn Award [in 2016] shortly after becoming a finalist of the Roux Scholarship and spent another four years with them." Matthews left his role at Vacherin at the start of the pandemic, which put an end to any further opportunities for some time.

"That gave me the push to start my own company," he adds. "And that was where Xpression Dining was born. During lockdown I was making sourdough from my house as well as doughnuts and sausage rolls – the demand was so high I couldn't make enough of them. That's when Glenn Shearing, the shoot manager of Bulland got in touch with me regarding a private dinner for his 30th birthday."

That was last summer and since then Matthews has been impressing all of the guns at Bulland Shoot.

Supporting the local economy

The sport of shooting can be a target for animal rights groups, but at Bulland they are seeking to dispel any outdated perceptions by working with the local community as well as ensuring impeccable animal husbandry and conservation.

"Shooting is seen as an elitist sport and one that only the rich do, which may put people off the meat," says shoot co-owner Jon Ball. "But we have so many different people on shoots, it's a day in the countryside with friends.

"Unfortunately some shoots go out all day and then return to cook a piece of beef. That's what people need to understand. If we're to go out shooting, we have to be eating it."

Shoots also bring a considerable amount of money to the local economy, typically in slower times of the year outside of the tourist season.

"The beaters and the picker-ups are employed and all of the local accommodation gets booked too," Ball adds. "The pubs around here would otherwise be empty in the winter. For the guns it's their trip out and they like to enjoy themselves. They tend to spend far more money than your typical tourist and people need to understand what the shooting community brings to an area."

There's also a great sense of competition among the guns, with various challenges resulting in donations that benefit the local community.

"It's a great support to local business," Ball adds. "We always try and use everything local and really support the economy."

Nutritional value of game

Game is lean, high in protein, low in fat and typically more nutritious than other meats. According to the British Game Alliance (BGA) it's used both in hospitality and at home, and is on the rise as people look for different flavour profiles and healthy options.

"We set up the BGA in 2018 to promote, develop and assure the consumption of game meat," explains Louisa Clutterbuck, head of operations at the BGA.

The organisation also runs a traceability scheme offering operators reassurance that shoots are doing their best for the local environment, including looking after the welfare of wild birds and ensuring pheasants aren't crammed into pens. Since its launch it claims that game consumption has gone up by 10%. The BGA has also launched an Eat Wild division which features a number of recipes aimed at the hospitality industry. Clutterbuck adds: "It's a myth that game is a posh person's food. This is available to everyone. We've found that now there is an assurance scheme in place more people are willing to use game".

"It doesn't take a lot of technique to cook it cooking, it just needs to be cooked for much less time than you would a chicken".

"We need people to understand it's a food product, not a by-product of the shooting industry."