Traditional butchery skills are going out of fashion in restaurant kitchens but, as Michael Raffael reports, butchery for profit can put you a cut above the competition.
On Thursday 3 January, David Everitt-Matthias, of Le Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham, bought a 12kg roebuck shot on New Year's Day. He paid £31. By the time his customers have finished eating it, he will have covered its cost 20 times over.
Blatant profiteering? Hardly. No one would think of judging a piece of china by the price of clay. It's the chef's skill that adds value.
A reasonably able chef would have no problem turning a loin or saddle of venison into a main-course item. Once he's trimmed and portioned it, it will have cost him, say, £15 per kilogram. Everitt-Matthias's £31 outlay will yield 10 loin, 18 haunch and eight shoulder portions; the trimmings will supply tortelloni, miniature cottage pies and crépinettes; the liver and fillets will garnish soups, served as starters or amuse-bouche; and the shanks will go out as specials on the £20 lunch menu.
All these options are possible because the kitchen has advanced butchery skills. Everitt-Matthias and his two chefs, Anthony Rush and Arnaud Pesnier, are comfortable boning out meat. This used to be standard larder technique, but now, especially in the restaurant middle ground, it's seen as easier to buy meat part-prepared or pre-portioned.
By delegating the task to butchers, chefs are accepting the extra costs, but they are also losing a measure of control over quality. The professional boners employed by catering butchers work quickly. They don't necessarily work with the precision of an experienced craft chef. Nor do they have a vested interest in producing perfect-looking joints or the best yields.
At Le Champignon Sauvage, every piece of the carcass is valued, not only in monetary terms but also for what it can contribute in cooking. It's a two-way street - by butchering to the highest standard, Everitt-Matthias is ensuring the quality of the raw material, but he's also turning it to his own financial advantage.
Venison butchery
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David Everitt-Matthias
Spiced roasted roe deer, pumpkin fondant, pommes purée with braised shank
Photo © Nick Smith