As the UK’s game season arrives, so does the chance to cook with some of the most indulgent ingredients our countryside has to offer—if you know where to look.
From early September to February, wild meats like venison, partridge, and grouse start appearing in the hands of skilled butchers and the savvier supermarket counters.
But if you want to experience game at its most refined, you look to the masters, like Ramiro Lafuente Martinez, executive chef at The Connaught Grill, a man who makes cooking with game feel less like a rustic affair and more like a private audience with culinary royalty.
Take his chicken liver parfait, for instance. It’s not just a starter; it’s a rich, velvety affair served with a bright, tangy blackberry emulsion and garnished with edible flowers that will have your guests thinking you’ve been moonlighting in a Mayfair kitchen. Or the venison and foie gras pithivier – a dish so decadent it should come with a health warning, but one bite in, you won’t care. And let’s not forget the smoked vanilla and whisky soufflé, a dessert that takes your basic French classic, adds a hit of boozy warmth, and lifts it to a realm of pure indulgence.
So, if you’re feeling bold this game season, why not bring a bit of Martinez’s Connaught magic into your kitchen? Sure, these recipes might test your culinary mettle, but trust me, the reward is worth every second.
Chicken liver parfait, blackberry emulsion, orange zest
Serves: 2-3 people
Ingredients:
For the chicken skin tuile:
60g chicken skin
For the liver parfait:
200g chicken livers
25g double cream
5g unsalted butter
10g confit shallots
1g thyme
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
10ml port wine
For the blackberry emulsion:
100g fresh blackberries
20ml red wine port
20ml orange juice
Honey, to taste
Garnishes:
Alyssum flowers
Orange zest
Method:
1. Create a tuile using chicken skin. Start by scraping off all the fat from the chicken skin. Then, roast it between two trays at 180C for approximately 10 minutes.
2. Make a classic liver parfait. Sauté the chicken livers in brown butter. Add shallots, thyme, salt and black pepper. Once the shallots are confit, add a glass of reduced port wine and cook the mixture for a few more minutes.
3. Serve the dish with a blackberry emulsion. Use fresh blackberries, a reduction of red wine port, orange juice and a touch of honey to make the emulsion. Garnish the tuile with alyssum flowers and orange zest.
Venison and foie gras pithivier, truffle mash potatoes, venison jus
Serves: 2-3 people
Ingredients:
For the mushroom duxelles:
200g seasonal wild mushrooms, finely chopped
50g confit shallots, finely chopped
40ml olive oil
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
For the spinach layer:
300g fresh spinach leaves
Few spoons olive oil
Salt, to taste
For the foie gras:
30-40g, foie gras, deveined and slice
20g salt
5g sugar
2g thyme
For the venison loin:
140-150g venison loin
50ml olive oil (for marinating)
2g rosemary
2g thyme
1 garlic clove, smashed
5g black peppercorns, crushed
Salt, to taste
Oil (for searing)
For the pithivier pastry:
300g puff pastry
1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
For the truffled mash:
400g potatoes
60g double cream
75g unsalted butter
10g black truffle, freshly grated
Salt, to taste
White pepper, to taste
Method:
1. The pithivier is layered with wild mushrooms, spinach, foie gras and venison loin. First, the mushroom duxelles are prepared by sautéing seasonal wild mushrooms and shallots until well cooked, ensuring all excess water is removed from the mixture.
2. For the spinach layer, fresh spinach leaves are sautéed with olive oil and salt, then pressed through a chinois to remove any remaining moisture. The spinach is then rolled between two sheets of baking paper to create a thin layer. Deveined slices of foie gras are marinated for approximately 20 minutes with salt, sugar, and thyme.
3. The venison loin is marinated overnight in oil with fresh herbs and spices, then seared in a pan with oil the following day.
4. To assemble the pithivier, all components are allowed to cool before being layered. The venison loin forms the base, followed by the foie gras slices and the mushroom duxelles. Once compact, the layers are wrapped with the spinach sheet.
5. For the truffled mash, potatoes are baked in the oven until soft, then peeled and passed through a fine sieve. The potatoes are emulsified with double cream and a generous amount of butter. Just before serving, freshly grated black truffle is added, and the mash is seasoned to taste.
Smoked vanilla and whisky souffle
Serves: 2-3 people
Ingredients:
For the crème pâtissière:
650ml milk
Smoked vanilla (vanilla with liquid smoke extract), to taste
70g sugar
47g cornstarch
180g egg yolks
For the vanilla ice cream:
450ml milk
150ml cream
140g egg yolks
120g sugar
Smoked vanilla, to taste
70ml whisky (optional)
For the soufflé:
Smoked soft butter, around the molds
65g egg whites
30g sugar
125g crème pâtissière
Garnish:
Smoked vanilla ice cream (homemade or shop-bought)
Method:
1. Prepare a classic French crème pâtissière. Boil the milk with smoked vanilla to extract as much flavor as possible. Whisk the dry ingredients with the egg mixture, then cook everything together until it boils and thickens. Create smoked vanilla at home by adding liquid smoke extract to the vanilla.
2. Make the vanilla ice cream. Cook a vanilla crème anglaise to 82C. Allow it to cool, then add whisky to mature the flavor. Churn the ice cream fresh on the day, using the previously smoked vanilla. If you don’t have an ice cream churner, opt for shop-bought vanilla ice cream.
3. Prepare the soufflé molds. Brush them with smoked soft butter using straight strokes, and coat them with caster sugar.
4. Make a meringue by whisking the egg whites with sugar. Fold it into the crème pâtissière, warmed to around 60°C. Pipe the mixture to the top of the molds, level it off, and bake in the oven at 180C for about 7 minutes.
5. Serve the soufflé with smoked vanilla ice cream on the side.