Venison sales increase 34%

The report found that venison accounts for half of the total spend on game worth £43m between 2006 and 2010 and is still rising.

The reason is based part on supply and part on demand — there are more wild deer in Britain than at any time since the Norman conquest with the population topping two million, and they have to be culled. On the demand side, it is healthy, seasonal and generally local and as such it “hits every consumer button”, said Alexia Robinson, editor of Love British Food.

Venison is high in protein, low in saturated fatty acids (less than 2% fat) and contains higher levels of iron than any other red meat.
“Vension really is the meat of the moment,” said Robinson. “It is the new beef this season.”

Debbie Collins, spokeswoman for the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), said: “Demand is growing strongly for venison at the moment, which is being driven in part by exposure through celebrity chefs and cookery programmes on television. Anecdotal evidence says demand for venison has never been so high.”

Will Oakley of Shropshire-based game dealers Willo said: “We have noticed a massive increase in vension sales. There are a few reasons for this — venison is competitively priced and is now available in many retail outlets. All the top chefs are using venison and it’s frequently featured on cookery programmes; it’s wild, natural, extremely tasty and very healthy.”

British Game Fortnight (14 to 27 November) offers a great opportunity to get some game on the menu. Nigel Haworth’s four Lancashire Ribble Valley Inns sites offered different game dishes every day, advertised through Twitter and Facebook.

They included game soup with pearl barley, brandy, cream & homemade bread and a game platter to share with venison Scotch egg, game terrine, pheasant course pate & game bird sausage roll, Cumberland sauce, celeriac remoulade & homemade bread.