September 2024
Well, I can hardly believe that it is the end of the month already and we are nearly into October, with Autumn firmly on the way. I thought that this month’s newsletter was a good opportunity to introduce myself and to tell you all a little of my background, so here goes.
I trained at Leith’s (many years ago) and have mostly used my cooking skills to supplement my income over the years working in pubs, for catering companies, in Chalets and even as a sous chef under a Michelin starred chef in Monmouth for a while. I realised when I was quite young that cooking for a living is phenomenally challenging and so, after my first degree I decided to train as a Science Teacher, silly me. Specialising in Biology, I have taught for over 20 years in some of the top schools in the World and have rather had enough, (although I keep my hand in with some private tutoring every now and again). I also happen to have a Masters in conservation biology and global wildlife disease, so between the cooking, the teaching and the conservation aspects of my background, I think I am fairly well matched with Eat Wild and its vision for the future, and have thoroughly enjoyed my work at events with Eat Wild thus far.
It has been yet another busy month for Eat Wild, starting out with the launch of Eat Wild and GWCT’s “Fiver for the Future Campaign” encouraging shooting grounds and schools to take part in raising money for the future of shooting across the country. It is an imperative for the future of Fieldsports for us all to work together and this initiative is an excellent example of this, with every penny raised by those in support of the shooting industry going towards creating new markets for game, important scientific research, instigating policy change, and education. To tie in with this campaign we have launched limited edition t-shirts so do check them out here.
Following closely on the heels of this, came the Eat Wild and BQWV (British Quality Assured Wild Venison) Press event at one of Brixton’s coolest members clubs, Upstairs at The Department Store. The event was well attended by people who hadn’t eaten much venison before, with fabulous food showcasing some of the diverse recipes in which venison can be used, and a very informative presentation from David Hooton from the Forestry Commission highlighting the reasons why deer populations should be, and need to be controlled. The presentations sparked up some interesting discussions and prompted attendees to ask questions, make discoveries and leave all promising to make venison a part of their everyday home menu. All the venison was kindly provided by Highland Game, including sausages for attendees to take home in some rather gorgeous cool bags provided by BQWV.
The middle of the month brought frantic preparation for attending one of the most original and best food festivals in the calendar, the Ludlow Food Festival. It is safe to say it was a roaring success with 20,000 foodies attending over three days, the team sold over 350 pies, several deers worth of venison and multiple covey’s of partridge. The team were lucky enough to be joined by Hugo Campbell Hill, AKA @thegameglutton for the first two days, who provided feathered birds for butchery demonstrations and were blessed by a visit from the delightful Kate Humble, who is rather keen on Eat Wild popping over to deal with her squirrel problem in a delicious and prompt manner!
So now we come to the end of the month and this is the time when we wish our passionate, talented and inspirational CEO a safe and happy Maternity leave. May she be blessed with a healthy, happy baby, and I am sure that she will be back before we all know she is gone!
Best of luck Louisa.
Finally, looking ahead to October, we would like to say a huge thank you to Mark Kempson at Kitchen W8, for being the first restaurant to add a donation to their menu for Eat Wild, and anyone visiting London in October should go and try the exquisite, game menu he has on offer. It will truly be a meal to remember.
I look forward to working with you all over the coming months.
Sarah Gulak
Wild Meat Educator