The Joys and Benefits of Wild Meat
Great British Game Week (#GBGW) is a national celebration to promote wild game, running from 6th-12th November 2023. If you haven't tried our game pies, now's a good time to do so! And we’re offering an exclusive deal throughout this special week: Game Pie and Wild Venison in Red Wine Gravy are both £3.99 each.
Award-winning Game and Venison Pies
Our very popular Game Pie won Class Champion at this year's British Pie Awards (for the third time!) and our Wild Venison in Red Wine Gravy won Highly Commended, and has also been a great hit with our customers, especially at Christmas time as it’s a very decadent pie, perfect for the festive season.
Collecting the winner's trophy and certificates at the British Pie Awards are Christian, Chief Pie Maker and Filipe, Mud's pastry aficionado. They were stunned to win with BOTH pies! The Speciality Pie category sponsor was Eat Game (formerly Taste of Game), who presented the trophy. Eat Game is an organisation that aims to educate, inspire and promote the benefits of eating sustainable, delicious, wild game meat.
Trustworthy and Dependable Wild Game Meat
At Mud, we source all our game from South Downs Venison and Game in Duncton, near Petworth, owned and run by Jack Smallman, who Christian has known for many years. For us, the partnership with South Downs Venison and Game is not just a choice, but a reflection of our commitment to delivering the finest game and venison pies to your table.
Christian says "Just like Mud, they are a close-knit, family-run business, and their commitment to locally-sourced game of the utmost quality aligns perfectly with our own core values. Their wild game comes from local parks and estates along the South Downs, on the doorstep of our bakery. We believe that the combination of our dedication to excellence and their exceptional game sourcing will ensure a truly delightful dining experience for you."
Mud’s Wild Venison in Red Wine Gravy
Locally-sourced wild venison is gently simmered in our flavoursome red wine gravy infused with subtle herbs and spices. Encased in our legendary buttery shortcrust pastry. A luxury pie and a real treat.
What our customers say:
“We have just had the venison pie, how delightful it was, so succulent, lots of meat and just out of this world, beautiful pastry. We also had the beer battered chips, really a nice compliment to the pie. We most definitely will order again.” Patricia M, Chatham, Kent
Mud’s Game Pie
Game has a reputation for having a very strong, concentrated taste, especially if the meat has been hung for a period of time, but our Game Pie has a more delicate balance of flavours and is not “overly gamey”. It’s packed with venison, partridge and pheasant, as well as smoked lardons, mushrooms and juniper berries, in a satisfyingly rich, red wine sauce. All encased in our legendary butter-rich shortcrust pastry.
What our customers say:
“Just had the Game Pie, absolutely delicious. Perfect! The pastry fantastic. Everything absolutely 💯 🙌. Please do not ever change this. This is what I call old-fashioned pie, where you can actually taste it.” Sheree G, Kingston upon Hull
History of our Game Pie
Our Game Pie has won the ultimate accolade of Class Champion of the Speciality Pie category at the British Pie Awards no fewer than 3 times! In 2016, when Christian entered for the first time, Mud Foods was smaller and Christian was working long hours, with few staff.
The night before the awards lunch he got a call saying his pie had been shortlisted and could he come tomorrow to the ceremony. He never for a moment thought he would win and remembers it clearly: "I said, 'I can't come - I'm making pies!' And lo and behold we won first prize. So I missed my moment of glory!"
Then something unexpected happened.
One of the judges, a lady from Taste of Game (now called Eat Game), which was the sponsor, came to the bakery with the trophy to personally deliver it to Christian! She said, “Your pie was fantastic. We’d spent the whole morning trying game pies and, when we tasted yours, we all looked up with big smiles on our faces… it was so delicious.” Praise indeed!
Promoting Wild Meat
At a time when food prices are high and certain supply chains are struggling, wild game meat is a fantastic resource, as there’s plenty of this exceptional quality fare available in the UK. Louisa Clutterbuck is the CEO of Eat Wild, an organisation with the ambitious aim of trying to get the message to every household about the benefits of eating these sustainable and delicious meats.
They’re calling all adventurous chefs and food enthusiasts to embrace the wild side of British cuisine for this year’s Great British Game Week. On their website, Eat Wild encourage everyone to “seize the opportunity to introduce the rich, authentic flavours of wild meat to your menu. From succulent venison to flavourful pheasant and hearty rabbit, these local treasures are waiting to captivate your diners. It’s time to set your tables for a unique gastronomic adventure and celebrate the true essence of British cuisine.” A fantastic objective.
Why not join in with Great British Game Week with one of Mud’s delicious award-winning game pies!
