This month Master Chef Steve Thorpe, Head of The Hotel School - City College, Norwich who will be demonstrating at next year's 'East Anglian Game & Country Fair' in the Cookery Theatre, tells us how to create a delicious meal of Roast Norfolk pheasant with fondant potato, cream leeks and wild mushroom jus.

Ingredients for 4 portions

2  Pheasant

4 potatoes, washed and peeled

70g butter

100mls white stock

Large sprig thyme

½ lemon

2 leeks shreaded

50g butter

150mls cream

100g wild mushrooms

25 g butter

150 mls brown stock

1 tablespoon redcurrant jelly

 Steve's Method

• Remove the back bone from the pheasant and use to make a stock, this will allow the meat to cook a little quicker.
• Shape the potatoes and then seal in the butter, add stock and cook in the oven for 40/50 mins until the potatoes are cooked.
• Seal the pheasant in a pan, and place in the oven to cook, approximately 20-30 mins at 180oC. Add thyme lemon and 150 mls of stock to help keep the bird moist.
• Sweat the leeks in butter, when softened add the cream and cook out to thicken, don't over cook as you start to lose the colour within the leeks.
• Pan fry the finely sliced mushrooms in butter, add a little port, the redcurrant jelly to form the base for the jus.
• Take the pheasant from the oven and strain the liquor into the pan with the mushrooms.

To serve.

Remove the breast of the pheasant from the rib cage, cut the legs in half at the joint and remove the drum stick.

Place the cooked potato on the plate, place leeks on top, slice the breast into 3 pieces and arrange on the leeks, nappe the dish with mushrooms and the jus made from the cooking liquors.

Enjoy!