The Game Fair is always a great destination for those with a keen interest in the culinary arts and the BASC Wild Food Theatre at The Game Fair 2025 (Ragley Hall, July 25-27) promises to be an unmissable experience again. Throughout the event, Britain’s top game chefs will showcase their talents in live cookery demonstrations, providing valuable tips and revealing the secrets behind their signature dishes. But it’s not just about cooking, it’s an exploration of food provenance, sustainability, and the art of using nature’s ingredients, with insights from chefs who hunt, fish, shoot and forage.
Mark Lloyd and Eva Humphries took audiences on a culinary journey at the BASC Wild Food Theatre last year where their passion for cooking with game truly shone. Mark is the visionary behind 8 Plates, an exclusive dining experience in Nottingham that has quickly gained a reputation for pushing the boundaries of British cuisine. His cooking philosophy is rooted in prioritising wild, seasonal ingredients and championing British produce whenever possible. Meanwhile, Eva (MSc, DipION, mBANT, CNHC) is a leading clinical nutritionist with a refreshingly down-to-earth approach to nourishing food. Forget everything you think you know about nutrition, do away with the notion of calories and consider a thought-provoking perspective that focuses on the addition of delicious foods.
Together, they make an influential team, showcasing the versatility of game meats like partridge and venison. Their recipes are more than just meals; they are a celebration of the seasonality and flavours of British game, offering dishes that are both exciting to cook and nourishing to eat. In this feature, Mark and Eva each bring you one of their signature dishes, complete with comments from the other about what makes their chosen recipe so special.
We begin with Mark’s recipe…
XO Partridge / Charred Bok Choy / Tangy Pickled Veggies / Crispy Onions
Get ready to elevate your culinary game with this robust dish that showcases partridge – a game bird often overlooked but packed with flavour and character. Perfect for impressing guests or simply enjoying a hearty meal.
Serves 2
Ingredients
- For the Partridge:
- 2 spatchcocked partridges (backbones removed for even cooking)
- 50g XO sauce (store-bought or homemade if you’re feeling ambitious)
- 25ml cooking oil
- Salt and black pepper
- For the Charred Bok Choy:
- 2 large Bok Choy, cleaned and halved
- 100g crispy fried onions
- For the Pickles:
- 100g cider or white wine vinegar
- 200g caster sugar
- 300ml water
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced thin
- 200g mooli (or any radish), peeled and sliced into half-moons
- 100g shallots, peeled and sliced into rings
- A squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Cooking Instructions
- Grill the Partridge:
- Start by brushing the partridges with cooking oil and seasoning them generously with salt and pepper.
- Place them skin-side down on a hot griddle pan or BBQ over medium-high heat.
- After about 6-7 minutes, check for golden skin and distinctive grill marks.
- Flip the partridges, baste the cooked side with XO sauce, and continue cooking for another 6-7 minutes.
- Flip them one last time to caramelise the sauce for an extra 2-3 minutes. If you prefer more control, finish them in a preheated oven at 200°C for about 5-6 minutes until they reach an internal temperature of 68°C. Let them rest to allow the juices to settle.
- Char the Bok Choy:
- Heat up that griddle pan or BBQ.
- Place the Bok Choy cut side down and char until you see bold grill marks, repeat both sides.
- Remove when done and keep warm.
- Prepare the Pickles:
- In a bowl, combine vinegar, sugar and water, whisking until the sugar is fully dissolved.
- Add sliced carrots, mooli, and shallots. For a kick, feel free to toss in spices and bring the mix to a rapid boil, then let it cool to mellow the flavours.
- Transfer into a jar, cover, and let those veggies soak up that tangy goodness!
Plating:
- Take a half of the charred Bok Choy and pile on pickles and crispy onions.
- Position the beautifully glazed partridge alongside it.
- If you’re feeling adventurous, carve the bird or simply cut it into halves or quarters – either way, it’ll look impressive!
- Finish it off with fresh coriander, charred lemon wedges, or some sticky rice for that extra touch.
Eva’s Comments: Partridge is a great alternative to chicken with higher selenium content. This mineral is currently of special interest because the selenium content of our food has rapidly decreased since the 70’s. Selenium is essential for the immune system, metabolic and reproductive health.
And now for Eva’s recipe…
Venison Meatballs
The real aim of nutrition is to include as many feel-good nutrients in every dish as possible, so we feel amazing every day. Luckily for us, our British game is nutritionally stellar. The only hurdle is to make it appealing to a broader audience, hence, I picked a well-accepted meatballs and pasta dish, but with a more nourishing twist.
Serve with a simple tomato pasta sauce or head to wholefoodwarrior.co.uk for a nourishing hidden veg sauce that complements this dish well.
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 300g of venison mince
- 40g of venison liver, coarsely chopped
- 100g of ciabatta (or sourdough), toasted and cut into cubes
- 60ml of vegetable stock
- 1 large clove of garlic, sliced
- A generous pinch of dried seaweed or 1/4 of a nori sheet
- 2 small or 1 large egg, whisked
- Oil for cooking
- Sea salt and black pepper to season
Method:
- Put all of the meatball ingredients in a blender and pulse until they combine. Season well with sea salt and black pepper and pulse again. If you don’t have a blender then grab a medium-sized bowl and start by soaking the bread in the stock for a few minutes.
- Mash the bread and stock until you see loose crumbs.
- Add the egg, venison mince and a generous amount of sea salt and black pepper.
- Chop the garlic, seaweed and liver finely then add this to the remaining ingredients.
- Stir well to combine.
- Grab a plate to put the meatballs on.
- Wet your hands slightly (this will stop the meat sticking), take a generous teaspoon of the mixture and roll into a meatball. The size should be halfway between a Malteser and a golf ball.
- Put a frying pan on a high heat. Add a splash of cooking oil followed by the meatballs.
- Cook for 3-5 minutes without moving the pan until one side of the meatballs has browned.
- Reduce the heat to medium-high, turn the meatballs and continue cooking them for a further 3-5 minutes until they brown on the other side.
Allow the meatballs to rest for a couple of minutes before serving. Serve with pasta, tomato sauce, a side of greens and plenty of parmesan cheese.
Mark’s comments: This is a childhood favourite: meatballs in tomato sauce with pasta. But a lot lies beneath that simple title. As always, Eva’s dishes are packed with ‘the good stuff’, nutrients and variations galore but this one packs not one punch but a combination.
A light touch of liver through the meatballs will win over the most ardent offal hater. This dish delivers all the ingredients your body needs, wrapped up in a wonderful, recognisable and stealthily simple bowl of pasta.
See more culinary delights from Mark and Eva at the BASC Wild Food Theatre at The Game Fair 25 – 27 July. Don’t forget BASC members will receive complimentary entry across all three days of the event plus family and friends can also receive 20% off tickets.
Photo Credit: Ralph Barklam/Scene Studios
