Game on! TV chefs behind rising demand for partridge, pigeon and pheasant

Waitrose reports that sales of wood pigeon have risen by 80 per cent since the start of the shooting season compared with the same period of last year.

Customers are also buying pheasant and partridge, with the result that game sales as a whole were up by 24 per cent this year compared with last.

The supermarket says the rise in sales has come since the beginning of the "Glorious 12th" of August, the traditional start of the shooting season.

Chefs such as Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall have all endorsed game on their TV shows as well as books and newspaper articles.

Waitrose says shoppers are also attracted by the novelty of a different taste and the lower cholesterol content of game compared with other meats.

Pheasant and partridge are typically lower in fat than chicken.

Earlier this year, a survey by analysts Mintel found the market for game soared by 46 per cent to £57million between 2004 and 2006. Sales are forecast to increase by a further 47 per cent to £84million by 2011.

Mintel said four in ten have eaten game and one in ten is ready to try it.

However, it is still seen as a meat for the upper and middle classes and the market is relatively tiny compared with annual sales of chicken and turkey, which are worth £3billion, and red meat, which are worth £2.9billion.

Wood pigeon - sold by Waitrose in the form of breast fillets from September 1 to January 31 - is described as a "rich, dark meat with a distinctive gamey flavour".

It was a favourite with the Victorians. Mrs Beeton's cookbook has a recipe for pigeon pie - recommending that it is best served cold, stuffed with foie gras and truffles and padded out with plovers eggs - although such a recipe is likely to be considered to rich for modern tastes.

Waitrose has added grouse to its range in its London stores for the first time this year, placing it alongside mallard, partridge and pheasant.

Frances Westerman, game buyer at Waitrose said: "Our customers have long told us that they want to try game, but aren't sure how best to cook it.

"Now, with celebrity chefs championing game on television shows and in their restaurants - we are really seeing game moving from niche towards mass market appeal.

"Game is a delicious way to enjoy seasonal, British meats as well as being naturally low in fat.

"Shoppers are increasingly looking for new taste experiences, and early indications suggest this is going to be a bumper season for game."

Waitrose has sold game in its shops since 2001. This Christmas, it will be offering shoppers a speciality "game roast", containing three types of game: a wild mallard, wrapped around a savoury pheasant, stuffed in turn with two partridges - a meal dating back to Medieval times.