Could game be on the menu for school and hospital dinners?
School dinners have changed a lot over the years. Now a Shropshire firm is backing a campaign to get lean, high protein game meat on the menu in Welsh hospitals and schools.
The call will be made at the second annual Welsh Game Fair, which champions the countryside and rural pursuits.
Organisers say venison, pheasant, duck and rabbit are cheaper, healthy options that should be embraced by NHS and school caterers
They want to see game meat given equal billing to more regularly used staples like chicken, beef and lamb.
The crusade will get underway at the two-day Welsh Game Fair, staged in association with the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, at Faenol Estate near Bangor over the weekend of September 9 and 10.
A strong advocate of the campaign is Will Oakley, operations director of one of the UK’s leading suppliers of game meat, Willo Game, based in Norbury, South Shropshire. It sources more than half its products from Wales.
Mr Oakley, a former gamekeeper turned meat supplier, has more than 30 years in the business and believes it is time game was as much a part of the menu in hospitals and schools as other meats.
He said: “We have some hurdles to overcome, but these are mainly based around common misconceptions about use of game as a food source.
“But when you sit down and look at the actual facts, there are an abundance of sound and compelling reasons to introduce game to NHS menus. First among them must be that this is the healthiest meat there is. It is the leanest and has the highest protein value of any meat.”
A 100g serving of venison has 22g of protein compared to 17g in beef. It has nearly twice as much iron, half as much saturated fat and only 7g of total fat compared to 20g in beef. It also carries much less calories - 160, contrasting with 245 in beef.
“It’s also free of human intervention, with zero steroids, antibiotics or other additives compared to some farmed meats. From the moment they are born, deer live in the wild, roaming free, grazing naturally.
“They and other varieties of game live outdoors in their natural habit, making them the most free-range meat source we have.
“It is a similar story with fowl. Wild pheasant, partridge and grouse all have higher protein levels than chicken, and a lot less saturated fat but more, healthier polyunsaturated fat, meaning they are much lower in cholesterol.
“All this means that the consumer is likely to get more nutrition eating a small portion of game than they would with a plateful of other red meat.
“This could be particularly advantageous in hospitals where recovering or ill patients may not feel up to eating large meals. They will know they can still get their required nutrition even if they eat a fairly small portion.”
The company currently exports 100 pallets a week to Europe, six to seven containers to Hong Kong and a similar amount to the Middle East.
Closer to home, demand is also on the increase as more pubs and restaurants have come to realise the value of game, and supermarkets are increasingly stocking it.
"The latest market figures show the price of beef at £35 per kilo compared to £23 per kilo for venison. That makes it financially viable for hospitals. Choosing game would not add any further constraints to NHS budgets,” said Mr Oakley
James Gower, chief executive of Stable Events which organises the show, alongside The Game Fair and the Scottish Game Fair, there are plans to double last year’s attendance figures and get 20,000 people through the gates.
The event will cover everything from angling and axemen to conservation, shooting and wildlife, all on the Faenol’s magnificent 500 acres overlooking the Menai Straits.
“We hope events like the Welsh Game Fair will open people’s eyes to the potential of game and put it front and centre of the table.
“Our aim is to celebrate everything that is best about the countryside and rural pursuits, including the wider benefits of conservation and field sports.
“We’ll have gundogs, clay shooting, archery, fishing, food and falconry - not to mention the amazing shopping at the wide range of stalls.
“Over the two days we have a jam-packed itinerary of displays, demonstrations, have-a-go attractions and exhibitors.”
For more on the Welsh Game Fair go to welshgamefair.org
