Once again it will be Scottish Venison Day tomorrow (4th September) and many retailers and restaurants throughout the UK are including special venison dishes or offers to mark the occasion.
The Scottish Venison Partnership, which continues to raise awareness for this iconic Scottish food, held a professional venison tasting event in Edinburgh for chefs and food writers today (3rd September), where well known venison ambassador and award-winning food writer Nichola Fletcher challenged guests to tell the difference between red deer and roe deer, and demonstrated different factors that influence taste.
The popularity of venison is growing rapidly among foodies all over the world, and with its inherent Scottish Monarch-of-the-Glen image there is a real market for home-grown Scottish venison, but unfortunately demand is now exceeding supply. Rather than see venison imported from overseas, many Scottish farmers and landowners are recognising the huge potential of Scotland's indigenous food product and are planning to create deer farms to capitalise on the demand.
Chairman of the Scottish Venison Partnership, Stephen Gibbs, said: "We want Scottish Venison to be up there flying the flag for Scotland alongside Scottish whisky and Scottish beef. There is a real opportunity to globalise Scottish Venison and the market is ready for it now. There has never been a better time to be involved in the venison industry. As a food it is delicious, nutritious, easy to cook and good for you, being a good source of iron and high in vitamins, and professional chefs and home cooks have recognised this, resulting in the venison appeal spreading like wildfire.
"There is still a lot of ignorance or misconceptions about venison though, and we need to educate the public, butchers and caterers about its attributes. We want people to know that it is not just red deer that produces delicious venison, but roe deer too, and that both farmed and wild venison are excellent as long as the source is quality assured. We want people to think venison whenever they are considering a meat dish. It is as versatile as beef, lamb and pork, but a lot healthier."
To learn more about Scottish Venison visit www.scottish-venison.info.
Further information: Rosemary Walker, Playfair Walker PR, 0131 445 5570, rosemary@playfairwalker.com
Photo caption: Food writers and chefs learn more about Scottish Venison today at a demo in Edinburgh by award-winning food writer and venison ambassador Nichola Fletcher. Scottish Venison Day is tomorrow - 4th September.
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