FOOD & DRINK BUCKING THE BEEF TREND


Wild venison has emerged as an alternative to beef in workplace dining, according to 14forty. The company is now using it across 59 UK-wide sites. What are the reasons for this change?


Wild venison is helping 14forty reduce menu fat content and lower carbon emissions, while strong customer demand is driving its expansion across workplace restaurants.


The meat, once associated with expensive restaurants and wrongly branded as tasting ‘too gamey’ for the workplace, is having a major comeback.


It is being used in a range of new recipes at 14forty, including burgers, sausages and even a venison firecracker curry, across 59 sites in the UK.


Jeremy Nutsford, Head of Food at 14forty, said: “Attitudes to wild venison are changing fast and we’ve worked hard to win hearts and minds before bringing it onto our menu.


“We recognised wild venison’s potential to deliver great taste while supporting our health, wellbeing and sustainability goals. Those priorities matter to both 14forty and our clients, so it was something we had to explore.


“There were hurdles to overcome. In factory and industrial sites where people are often on their feet all day, there tends to be a bigger demand for meat sustenance and items like burgers are really popular. So, you need core staples that are high in demand.


“The art is to make these items healthier and that’s what we’ve done. Venison provides people with choice and once they taste it, they love it. The feedback has been outstanding.”


According to data from the Foodsteps UK-specific secondary emissions factors (cradle-to-grave), wild venison emits 85% less CO2e than farmed beef per kilogramme, while also containing less fat than skinless chicken.


Jeremy says the switch has delivered menu items that are lower in fat than their beef equivalent – and with a lower carbon footprint.


Wild deer naturally graze on a variety of vegetation rather than high-energy cereals or other concentrated feeds. This means the meat is lower in saturated fats but higher in the more beneficial unsaturated fats.


Venison also contains minerals that are good for general health, including iron, phosphorus, potassium and zinc, as well as vitamins B6, B12, riboflavin, niacin and thiamine. It is rich in omega-3, too.


“That may be a surprise to many people,” said Jeremy. “It adds to venison’s credentials as a fantastic alternative.”


Creating wild venison-based recipes was only part of the story, however.


44 | TOMORROW’S FM


Finding sustainable suppliers and creating a diced product was the starting point, before developing burgers and sausages, with chefs such as B&I Chef of the Year contender Huw Griffiths and street food expert Kyle Shaw involved in the process.


A key challenge was persuading customers to try venison, particularly those who saw a traditional beef burger as their first choice.


This was tackled with a ‘tasting day’ at one industrial site in the north of England.


“It went incredibly well,” said Jeremy. “We received 230 feedback samples from the day and our wild venison was consistently described as ‘lovely,’ ‘superb’ or ‘very good.’ It was the most frequently mentioned protein option.


“Since then, 1,920 wild venison burgers have been sold across Compass Group UK & Ireland’s business and industry sector in just six months and we expect demand to continue growing.”


At sites where customers were more reluctant to switch, a 50-50 beef and wild venison burger has been developed.


Jeremy said: “It works on so many levels. Wild venison allows us to deliver on health and sustainability goals while giving customers a product they genuinely enjoy. That’s why we believe this trend is here to stay and we are committed to further evolving our menus to include it.”


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