From field to wild feast

Game is the ultimate low-mileage food. One very special event in Wiltshire, the Burderop Banquet, showcased just how versatile and delicious it can be.

The Burderop Banquet

Hosted by Wiltshire farmer Josef Bowles, the first Burderop Banquet brought 24 guests by shoot bus into a secluded valley near Chiseldon on 25 July. The ten-course, field-to-fork dinner tested whether rural hospitality could generate more demand and income for British game and other local businesses.

A shoot, a tenant farm and independent food producers put venison and pheasant on the table alongside produce from the surrounding area.

Growing the demand for British game

The banquet demonstrated how shoots and food businesses can work alongside farmers and growers to create demand for British game. Rather than treating venison and pheasant as specialist ingredients, the menu served them alongside other produce from the area.

The opening course included pheasant chorizo and venison salami from Game Changer Charcuterie, alongside Bowles Burderop biltong. Later, venison from the estate woodland was cooked over charcoal made from the same woods.

“We conceived the first Burderop Banquet as a proof of concept for a kind of landscape-to-plate rural hospitality,” said Josef. “It brought people into the countryside where much of their food originated and showed farming, game, woodland management, conservation and local enterprise as one connected story.”

Bringing together the community

The Burderop Estate Shoot dates back to the 1800s and uses three valleys across woodland, pasture and arable farmland. Josef’s ties to the shoot date back many years, with his late father, Dr Adrian Bowles, a keen game shooter who began beating there as a boy. Adrian later joined the syndicate, became shoot captain and eventually took on its running.

Josef farms part of the estate as a tenant of the Langton brothers. The farm, shoot and other enterprises operate independently but continue to work closely together.

The estate retains its community character, with let days also available. Guns, beaters, pickers-up and supporters from several local game shoots regularly come together in the village pub. Pheasant and partridge from shoot days, along with venison harvested on the estate, enter the local food chain. And outside the game season, Burderop works with nearby Barbury Shooting School to hold spring and summer simulated game days.

A celebration of heritage

The banquet held personal significance for Josef, taking place exactly three years after his father Adrian’s funeral, which was held on the opposite side of the valley. Adrian, a BASC member right up to his death, established the family’s pedigree Dexter herd in 2019 as a retirement project, and Josef and his sister Elisabeth have continued the herd.

As a nod to their father, at sunset, the King’s Ginger was passed around the table. It was one of Adrian’s favourite drinks, and the 24 guests raised a glass to him. The toast connected the meal with the man whose work continues to shape the farm and shoot.

Beyond personal significance, the Burderop Banquet showed how tenant farmers, a shooting family and independent rural businesses can maintain traditions by adapting and working commercially. Josef hopes the banquet will return next year, giving more guests an opportunity to see where their food comes from.

In the meantime, on Bank Holiday Monday, 31 August, Bowles Burderop Beef will host its family-friendly Burgers in the Field event, centred on the farm’s 100 per cent grass-fed pedigree Dexter beef. Visit bbbeef.co.uk

Fancy trying something from the Burderop menu?

Give this Burderop damson and whisky barbecue sauce recipe a go. It’s a rich, sharp sauce developed for the banquet and should be served with rested, sliced venison. Makes approximately 500ml.

Burderop damson and whisky barbecue sauce for venison

Ingredients

500g ripe damsons
150g granulated sugar
2tbsp black treacle
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2tbsp tomato purée
150ml cider vinegar
100ml whisky
2tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1tbsp soy sauce
1tsp Colman’s mustard powder
1tsp smoked paprika
½tsp chilli salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1tbsp rapeseed oil

Put the damsons in a saucepan with 75ml water. Cover and simmer gently for 15–20 minutes, until the fruit has collapsed. Push through a sieve, discarding the stones.
Heat the rapeseed oil in a clean saucepan and soften the onion and garlic for about ten minutes without colouring.
Add the damson pulp, sugar, black treacle, tomato purée, cider vinegar, whisky, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, mustard powder, smoked paprika, chilli salt and black pepper.
Simmer uncovered for 30–40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until glossy and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Blend until smooth, taste and adjust the seasoning, then allow to cool. Serve alongside rested, sliced venison.

Looking for the venison dish to serve with it? Explore Eat Game’s venison recipes for everything from roasted loin and curries to meatballs, tarts and other ways to put wild venison on the menu.