February - Rabbit on the menu
Over the last 2 Years I have introduced Wild Rabbit on our exam menus and
today I rang my game dealer to see if they can supply me with 120 of them.
60 are to be used for a stuffed saddle of Rabbit dish in fact its “ Saddle of Rabbit filled with a Chicken and Pistachio Mousse, Wrapped in Pancetta and served with a Dijon and Tarragon Sauce” these are for my level 3 part time exams. The other Rabbits will go to the 2nd year full time students as they have a “Ballontine of Rabbit filled with a chicken and herb Mousse”.
Its good to see dishes like this on our exams as It shows that the college, exam boards and the students are well versed in Game as a commodity. This has much to do with the serge in popularity of Game.
At the moment we are all a bit strapped for cash but 2 years ago when we all had a little more money to spend many of us ate out in pubs and restaurants around the country regularly. At this time we ate out more then we have ever done and because of this we became exposed to new and exciting ingredients from all over the world. We tasted it, liked it and then looked for it in our supermarkets. The reason that some of these ingredients where being stocked by supermarkets, was due to the hard work of organisations and campaigns that promoted them.
Looking at Game, the Game-to-Eat campaign was the first to promote Game to Chef‘s, Restaurants and Pubs. Like I said we tasted it, liked it and then looked for it in our supermarkets. Game-to-Eat broadened Chef horizons on Game and also gave them an understanding of a product that many were unsure of using and in many cases misunderstood.
I became involved with Game-to-Eat in 2004 doing a demonstration to a bunch of members of the press so as to dismiss some of the misconceptions’ about Game. From then on I have done countless demos and training days for them all over the country. They have worked hard to promote Game and to make people aware of it as a viable commodity.
The game dealers in this country have worked to improve the quality and handling of Game as a product to make it a more appealing product as well as a more attainable one. Game-to-Eat has done wonders for British Game and dispelled many of the misconceptions people have had over the years. This year throughout the country at Game fairs and demonstrations I hope with their help to enlighten even more people about versatility and easy in which we can make Game a more common feature on our menus.
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