Food - Farmers' Market

Blackberries, damsons, pears and plums.  September is a glorious month for harvesting, and this Saturday’s Lewes Farmers’ Market should be awash with an abundance of fresh, local produce. And since 1st September heralds the beginning of the partridge and wild duck hunting season, we can look forward to the return of the Gourmet Game Company to the market. Proprietor Neale Hopper tells me Lewes customers are very well informed. “It came as a shock to me because I normally have to encourage customers to try game, but here they know what they want.” he says. So what’s so good about game? “The animals have had a wild and varied life, so the meat is tasty, as well as being low in fat and high in iron.” Neale offers customers recipes for his meats, and these are also on his website, like Wild Boar Sausage Pot with Paprika. The pheasant season begins on 1st October, but this month he will be bringing: venison, wild boar, rabbit, pigeon, hares and game fowl. “My favourite is medallions of venison pan-fried or barbecued” he says. He goes on to explain that his meat comes from young fallow deer, which is more tender than the coarser, stronger meat of red venison. Neal has his own cutting room where he prepares his meats into joints and steaks and makes other products like wild boar sausages with apple, as well as burgers. EC