The BV magazine, November ‘22 MEET YOUR LOCAL
A walk on the Wild and Game side Pies, pasties and sausages are on the menu at Yeovil-based Wild and Game as they promote the use of wild British game into our diets. Rachael Rowe reports Nordic-style venison. All images: Wild and Game
It’s that season when thoughts turn to pheasant and venison dishes, but one local company is making British game a yearround food dish. Steve Frampton, the managing director of Yeovilbased Wild and Game, explained how it all began in 2017: ‘We really wanted to sell more British game – most of the game from British estates is sold to European markets. We want to change that and encourage more people to buy our own. Game is a great commodity in this country. ‘People think that game meat is an expensive meat. The Victorians started that by making
it an exclusive food. But it is actually in abundance, especially venison and partridge. There’s also lots of people who don’t know how to cook it, or don’t have a taste for it. ‘All our meat is wild game. We source it from British game dealers and British estates (including in Dorset and the West Country). Game dealers will buy from British shoots and estates, and farms for meat like venison. The meat is processed quickly, so we have breast meat, whole birds, and also pies and pates.’ What about the shooting season which will affect pheasant, for
example? ‘Our meat is processed very quickly and then frozen, so it’s available throughout the year. It’s not seasonal and there’s no reason why British game can’t be available all year round. We extend the season beyond the season. ‘And wild game has a lower carbon footprint. It’s also lower in cholesterol than other red meats. Some people are concerned about the carbon footprint with traditional farming right now and looking at vegetarian lifestyles; game meat is a good halfway house as the meat is all wild.’ Tell us about the team? ‘We have three people at the distribution warehouse and three working on the business side. We also have an extended network of game dealers, obviously.”
Sales manager Paul Houlker, business support manager Spencer Lord, co-founder Steven Frampton, technical consultant Katie WatkinsYoung and operations director Mark Robbins
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The most popular products? ‘Sausages, all year round! Especially the venison and pheasant sausage. We’re also bringing back our grouse
