Game is his real passion. Tom Kitchin says: "Scotland's wild food is so fresh and so rich in flavour that it is a pleasure to create exciting and different dishes with it. I look forward to the autumn so much."

 

And he is in a good position to give his views having won universal acclaim since last year's opening of The Kitchin in Leith, Edinburgh's new culinary quarter at Commercial Quay.

 

Tom had just taken delivery of a hare, which he was preparing as a one-off special. A few days previously, his supplier had appeared with some teal, which disappeared off the menu with the first two diners.

 

"I like to work with the young grouse at the start of the season in August, when they are so beautifully tender," he said. "My supplier brings them 'in feather' and we have to prepare them from first principles.

 

"I cook them pink on the bone, then separate them for presentation. All of the bird is used to make the special jus I serve with it."

 

Kitchin learned his trade under Michelin-starred chefs in France and London who went to extraordinary lengths to seek out the best wild food of each season.

 

 

"Partridge, teal, wild mallard and goose come into season in September, with the pheasant shoots starting in October. There are specialist shoots for birds such as partridge, which only fly in to the country from Scandinavia on moonlit nights in November.

 

"It takes us back to the idea of seasonality, with all the pleasure of looking forward to a particular food at the time nature provides it."

 

Kitchin gets his game from Craig Stevenson, dealer to the cognoscenti, who lists chefs such as Gordon Ramsay, Andrew Fairlie of Gleneagles and Kitchin's Leith neighbour Martin Wishart among his regular customers. Last year, Harvey Nicks' food hall added his range to its menu.

 

His Kilmarnock-based Braehead Foods has 36 workers and a turnover of £3.5m, selling to topflight restaurants and five-star hotels, as well as delicatessens, butchers and farm shops.

The birds are sourced from more than 40 estates from Langholm in the south to Aberfeldy and Kirriemiur in the north. Estates notify Braehead of their shoots and the birds are picked up and processed within two days, with strict hygiene standards applying as soon as they hit the ground.

"When they are flying, they are game birds, but the minute they're shot, they're food," said Stevenson. "All the estates are geared up now, with fridges and proper storage."

 

He is tickled at the way chefs beat down his door to get the best and the most freshly shot or caught produce.

 

When his phone became red hot recently with Tom Kitchin and Martin Wishart vying for the first woodcock, he told them both: "I'm going to leave them on the bridge in Leith and you two can shoot it out for them."

 

Not all game is strictly wild and estates invest considerable sums in rearing birds such as pheasant for release into the season. Sportsmen can pay more than £500 a day for a pheasant drive, with birds costing between £23 and £27 – prices which are obviously not reflected in the restaurants.

 

Food reviewer Clifford Mould recently recalled the old Victorian saying about the cost of shoots: "Up goes a guinea, bang goes tuppence and down comes half a crown."

 

Scotland, of course, prides itself on the quality of its venison, which has a season, which varies according to the species and sex of the deer.

 

But Kitchin points out that there are other, cheaper game species – such as rabbit and pigeon – staples on the continent but rarely see the light of day on Scottish menus.

 

"We must make the most of what we have on our doorsteps," he said. "The hunters, farmers, fishermen, craftsmen and suppliers of the food business are the guardians of Scotland's gastronomic heritage.

 

"They follow the natural rhythm of the seasons as they harvest our food. Game, particularly, is low in fat and high in protein – so it not only tastes wonderful but it's good for you. It doesn't get much better than that."

 

For further information please contact

The Kitchin,

78 Commercial Quay,

Leith, Edinburgh, EH6 6LX
Tel: 0131-555 1755
Fax: 0131-553 0608
Email: info@thekitchin.com
www.thekitchin.com