Game on for Inn Collection Group chefs at Great Yorkshire Show
Two young chefs from The Inn Collection Group took centre stage at the 2024 Great Yorkshire Show, as they displayed all their skills with game at a pair of cookery demonstrations at the 165th edition of the annual agricultural extravaganza.
Invited by renowned chef consultant Stephanie Moon, the group’s young chef of the year Felix Allen and Chef Academy graduate Connor Knox joined food development manager Chris Taylor and put on a show preparing and cooking superb venison dishes.
Taking to the stage in the Game Cookery Theatre in the morning, the trio began by demonstrating their exemplary butcher skills by processing a full venison before cooking a delicious slow-cooked Venison, prune and pancetta pie.
A silver award winner at the 2024 Great British Pie Awards and making use of venison shoulder, the pie impressed the audience when they were invited to sample and will be available to enjoy across The Inn Collection Group as a pie of the week in the autumn.
In the afternoon, the group took to Deliciously Yorkshire food theatre and set about proving that venison is an all-year-round delicacy, serving up the seared loin steak that features across the group’s newly launched summer menus at a host of inns.
A light and refreshing plate of food, the steak’s main accompaniment is a heritage tomato and blue cheese salad, which in honour of the venue and occasion, made use of a superb Harrogate blue.
During each demonstration, head of food Tom Adlam worked with the session host to discuss everything from its young chef development programmes to the food that is on offer across northern England and Wales.
Game is proving to be a popular feature across The Inn Collection Group, with its pubs having sold more than 68,000 dishes across this calendar year to date.
As a company born in Northumberland, its relationships with estates across the county are enabling the group to get the fabulous fresh produce onto the plates of its customers.
With a dedicated game butchery undergoing the final stages of commissioning, The Inn Collection Group’s ability to make the most of Northumberland’s larder is about to become even more prominent.
Speaking following the day at the show, Tom Adlam said: “We’ve had another excellent day at the Great Yorkshire Show and I’d like to thank Steph for opening up the opportunity to us
“Being there is an excellent platform for the group. It lets us provide enrichment for some of our young chefs, allows us to get The Inn Collection Group name out there and of course cook some delicious food.
“This was our second year in the Game Cookery Theatre and first in the main food hall and both demos had a great audience who were very complimentary about what they tasted, so hopefully they’ve been motivated to head to an inn and try some more.”
Discussing the importance of game on the group’s menus, Tom added: “With the group’s roots in Northumberland we’re proud to be working with estates across the county to get game produce into the food chain.
“Over the course of the year you will see venison, partridge and pheasant dishes on our menus and with the butchery coming on stream, the freshness and traceability of the food will be unparalleled.
“We expect to sell in excess of 70,000 game dishes this calendar year which shows the clear appetite our customers have for this offering and I fully expect the venison Bolognese fritters and the seared steak on the summer menus to be hugely popular.”