Curtis Pitts’ recently took part in a Continual Professional Development (CPD) conference with The Chefs’ Forum where he skinned and broke down a whole carcass of venison. This received fantastic feedback and was one of the highlights of the event. Alongside the requests for further CPD with Curtis and the subject of game, Curtis then held a further session on Friday 28th February, which encompassed game butchery and cookery with BASC and Taste of Game.
The idea was shaped to develop a more participative-led session aimed at developing further knowledge of the subject and a journey from ‘source to fork’ to include all involved in the process.
Last Friday’s event started with an introduction from Game & Wildlife Expert, Curtis Mossop from the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC). Curtis took us through a highly informative presentation and overview discussing the importance of conservation and responsible sourcing of rabbit and wood pigeon.
Catherine Farinha, Founder of The Chefs’ Forum was then joined on the farm by Chris Potter of Somerset Rabbit Services, to look at the process of rabbiting using ferrets. It was certainly interesting to learn of the different approaches to conservation management and the need to protect the land alongside the population of wildlife.
The cameras then went to Cutis Pitts to demonstrate how rabbits and wood pigeon are skinned, feathered and butchered for use in the kitchen. It was also refreshing to note how much yield was produced, particularly from the rabbit, with such little waste. Curtis prepared the cuts to the specifications of the chefs who took this forward to create their dishes in the live cook-along.
After a session to allow the participants to get their ‘mise en place’ together and prepare the rabbit and wood pigeon (received through the post in advance of the session) Matt Gisby, a leading game chef from BASC and Neil Rippington from The Chefs’ Forum produced dishes to feature and celebrate these fantastic products. There were many fantastic looking dishes produced by the participants and it was a great way to finish the week on a Friday afternoon.
In response to enquiries and requests from many customers who saw the event widely broadcast on social media, Curtis is set to launch a series of virtual butchery and cookery masterclasses to cover the various species of seasonal game and what to cook with it.
Anyone interested in booking onto the courses to be announced shortly should email: info@curtispitts.com
