we’ve got game.

game season is here.

At 6am, the restaurant is the quietest you’ll ever find it. The tables are made up, awaiting the 12pm lunch rush. The kitchen is cleaned down, calm. In just a few hours, the first chefs will arrive to begin their morning prep list. But that’s later. For now, manteca is still tranquil. And it is amidst this calm, in the back area prep kitchen, where one of our favourite rituals unfolds:  game season is underway. The first birds have arrived.  

When is game season?  

Beginning on August 12th and lasting until around the end of February the following year, game season in the UK sees some of the most flavoursome cuts and birds feature on our menu. We work with a select few game merchants around the country when sourcing both our feathered and furred animals. Venison and hares tend to come via Aurox, The Rare Breed Meat Company, Taste Tradition whilst birds mostly come from Swaledale and a few estates. We craft our menu around what is on offer – a list will be sent from the supplier, and we order accordingly. Our dishes are reimagined from there. 

This year’s run kicked off with some beautiful venison from Scotland, transformed into ragus and chops. But feathered game [ pigeon, woodcock, pheasant, mallard and grouse ] is what is most regularly available – and it is pigeons and pheasant from rare breed company that Chris is working on on this occasion. 

Feathered or furred game? 

The birds arrive ‘New York Dressed’ - meaning they are plucked, save for the wings. Chris begins his work by slicing off the wings and setting aside [ they are too small and boney to eat, but perfect for flavouring a stock ]. He then makes a long incision from the bird’s neck down to its base, and removes the insides. These will be sautéed down with garlic, white wine and soft onions, flavoured generously with herbs, and then smeared across buttery toast as a starter. 

How does manteca cook game?  

Then, the meat. sometimes the bird is roasted whole and served with crab apple jelly. Or, perhaps a jam made from summer’s bounty, provided by our supplier, Flourish Farm, and preserved with the foresight of appearing on our menu in the colder months.  

today, chris slices off the breast and minces finely with house-cured pancetta. the offal is added to this and cooked down slowly into a ragu that will be served with strozzapreti.
With the leg, the bones are removed and flattened out, breaded and deep fried until crisp and partnered with a three corner leek mayo – the oil made in the spring with the bountiful wild herb. 

Why do we love cooking with game?  

Over the next few months, we will continue to experiment with the new game offered. As always, we approach with the manteca philosophy of using the entire animal as consciously as we can. 

It seems a shame that, in the UK in particular, game is not widely eaten. Mainstream livestock has sidelined the consumption of these animals as unusual or elitist. When, in fact, it is some of the most widely available meat in the UK, and most nutritious, being free range and reared on the abundance of wild plants and fruits that grow on these estates.  

Most good butchers across the UK will stock game. Speak to your butcher on what is available and attempt something new beyond chicken or beef.