Eat Wild, the development board for wild meat, has collaborated with hospitality company Delaware North to deliver game meat to the hospitality boxes at football stadiums.
The collaboration delivered "sustainable, nutritious food" to both London Stadium and Emirates Stadium, serving wild game to football viewers in celebration of Great British Game Week (6th-12th November).
Customers at Emirates Stadium leaned more towards venison as more people tried the meal comprising of slow braised venison cottage pie, seared loin, braised savoy cabbage, venison faggot, celeriac puree and tayberry jus. At London Stadium, Eat Wild reported that the dish was also "warmly received" by all diners and "particularly enjoyed" by those that had not had venison before.
Louisa Clutterbuck, CEO of Eat Wild, said: "This is a landmark moment for Eat Wild - to get game on the menu of these two such prestigious stadiums is a real win as we are showcasing this high welfare, sustainable meat to a completely new audience.
"We've opened the door to a new avenue for game and are looking forward to developing its trajectory in this space and beyond, so that even more people can be introduced to the many benefits of eating wild meat."
In preparation for the implementation of wild game at the stadiums, Eat Wild took Delaware North on a "journey from field to fork" to give chefs first-hand experience of countryside management methods and "nose-to-tail" dining experiences. Those involved visited an estate in Warwickshire and were educated about the management practices involved in rearing and harvesting wild meat and the "multiple benefits" they have for countryside environments.
Leon Challis-Davies, Eat Wild culinary director, said: "Wild meat is not only healthier, but it's also more sustainable than what we consume from our current meat-producing sector. It's much more flavoursome too. Our mission is to introduce more people to the wonderful world of wild British meat, and to see it placed on the menus of these hugely popular stadiums really is a huge success."
Head chef of culinary at Emirates Stadium, David Holder, said: "It was a refreshing experience to produce a 'trio of venison' menu for the directors, using every single cut from the sustainably sourced deer, ensuring minimum wastage, and creating superb flavour which proved so popular we actually sold out 10 minutes before kick-off."
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
