Future Chefs Project in Wales

Mar 22, 2023

Inspiring the chefs of tomorrow to champion Welsh game meat in Wales and beyond, the Game Meat Wales project are supporting the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) college workshops series across Wales during 2023, entitled ‘The Future Chef’s Project’.

Passionate about equipping future chefs with the knowledge and love of game meat, BASC have delivered game meat workshops at over 40 colleges UK wide and to over 750 students to date.

The workshops are free of charge to participating colleges and consist of a presentation on game and the countryside, followed by butchery of game meat, cooking techniques and recipes finishing with a cookery challenge.

For participating colleges in Wales, Game Meat Wales supply Welsh game meat as well as recipe ingredients, a copy of The Welsh Game Guide, recipe cards and an apron for each student.

The end of January saw the workshop delivered at Newtown college group in Powys for the first time, led by Meurig Rees, Regional Officer for Wales and Matt Gisby, BASC Wild Food Officer. Meurig explains;

“The students have been very enthusiastic. The presentation has given them an insight on what venison and other game species looks like in the wild, learning where it comes from, what it eats which may help the students to think about pairing the meat with wild herbs and spices in their recipes”

Shaun Bailey, Chef Lecturer and Work Based Assessor at NPTC Group was grateful to welcome the BASC team to Mid Wales for the students to have an opportunity to learn about game;

“It’s been really informative; the students have got a lot out of it. They don’t get to use a lot of game very often so it’s nice for them to actually get hands on and get involved.”

Early spring 2023 also saw workshops delivered at a further 2 college groups across North Wales; Coleg Llandrillo Rhos on Sea and Coleg Cambria, Wrexham.

The next workshop is due to take place at Coleg y Cymoedd, Ystrad Mynach in April 2023.