BASC food ambassador Jose Souto explained how to create 125 dishes from one deer in a presentation to leading chefs from The Epicurean Collection.
The Epicurean Collection is a group of 24 independently-run boutique inns, which together have two million visitors a year, host shooting parties, are gundog-friendly and pride themselves on offering game on every menu.
Jose visited the Museum Inn, Dorset, to teach the 17 chefs how to break down a fallow carcass and to highlight the value of wild venison as a source of free-range, local produce.
Jose said: “I enjoyed explaining to the Epicurean chefs about the UK’s various deer species, their different seasons and some of the practical challenges and ethics of deer management.
“I explained venison’s versatility, from burgers to carpaccio, how nothing need be wasted, and how that makes it fantastic value for money.”
Paul Boyce, Epicurean Collection operations director, said: “Our inns specialise in local, seasonal food, which is increasingly popular, so it is helpful if our chefs and staff understand both where produce comes from and how it is processed from field to table. They can then explain that journey to our guests.
“We were delighted that Jose was able to talk about why wild venison is so good from an animal welfare perspective as well as being delicious.
“As our inns are mostly in rural areas, there is usually a good supply of local game and we encourage landlords and chefs to make contact with local shoots.”
ENDS
Note to Editors: Jose Souto is one of two BASC food ambassadors; the other is Mike Robinson, chef parton of the Michelin-starred Harwood Arms in Fulham, London.
The Epicurean Collection is a group of independently-run boutique inns all dedicated to the finest in British food, comfort and culture — set in idyllic countryside or traditional village locations across the south of England.
The Collection includes five pubs in London, as well as the mobile pop-up bar Pubs on Wheels. Dogs are welcome in all the bars — and at some inns they can even stay in rooms overnight. (https://www.epicurean.club/).