Having unique skills increases employability prospects and with this in mind, gamekeeping students have been learning how to process game meats.
Working in Duchy College Stoke Climsland’s state-of-the-art food processing rooms, the students prepared a fallow deer, pheasants and rabbits.
They also learnt how to check for any signs of disease in the carcass, skin and butcher the deer ready for processing.
Level 3 Gamekeeping student Conor Raffe, from Bideford, said the whole process “has been really interesting”.
“We got hands on experience of the whole process of preparing and butchering a deer and we learnt how to cut the carcass for joints and how to make sausages,” he continued.
“It was great being able to taste our hard work at the end.”
Students then processed the pheasants and rabbits for the table, learning the correct protocol and processes for putting game meat into the food chain, and ensuring a safe product for the consumer.
Deer Management and Game Meat Hygiene tutor, Ian Berry, said the workshop was “an important part of the course” as “students need to learn the correct protocol and processes”.
Gamekeeping programme manager, Peter Walters, said that it was vital to give students “hand-on experience”.
“Obviously the classroom theory and understanding of the gamekeeping units is essential, but we also want to ensure students get that real world experience to prepare them for the workplace.”
For more information on the range of gamekeeping courses available across The Cornwall College Group visit www.duchy.ac.uk or call 0330 123 2523.
