Our Aim

How hospitality can help us:

Our aim is to increase the amount of wild venison consumed in UK restaurants whilst ensuring that this incredible, sustainable and protein rich meat is donated to children and their families living in food poverty.

Manage and eat more wild deer, thereby protecting young trees and crops and feeding those in need with the healthiest meat there is.

The Wild Venison Project is a not for profit movement for chefs and restaurateurs set up by renowned restaurateur, chef and conservationist Mike Robinson and The Country Food Trust.

Our mission is to try to double the amount of wild venison used in English restaurants whilst ensuring as much of this incredible, sustainable and healthy meat is also donated to those in food poverty and children in schools.

Britain faces an exponential increase in wild deer numbers due to 2 years of very low culling thanks to a loss of market during the pandemic. This has lead to a massive loss of biodiversity, damage to fragile woodlands, the destruction of young tree plantations and huge losses to agricultural crops.

At the same time Britain also faces a huge increase in the number of people in food poverty many of whom are schoolchildren. It is estimated by the UN that 8.4 million people in the UK are struggling to feed themselves. The Country Food Trust since inception in 2015 has now donated over 2.5 million meals to people in need.

If we can double the pre pandemic demand for venison via a grass roots, chef led revolution in the use of this delicious, very saleable, profitable protein, then we will have solved a huge problem, created a truly sustainable food resource, fed millions in need and started to protect our trees to help counter climate change.

The collective experiences of Mike as a chef, restaurateur, deer manager and venison retailer and The Country Food Trust, as a charity helping feed people in need polarises this issue. We hope that the hospitality industry will get on board and make wild venison the meat of the next decade and help feed people in need in the process.