Glorious gourmet

The first brace of the season swoops into London

Last year the Glorious Twelfth was more glorious for the grouse, as it fell on a Sunday, a day when shooting customarily doesn’t take place in Scotland. Thankfully for enthusiasts hunting “Scotland’s noble bird”, this year the 12th falls on a Monday. Those who can’t be up on the Scottish moors needn’t miss out, though. The spoils of the beginning of the shooting season will be available the very same day at The Brompton Bar & Grill, which has teamed up with The London Shooting Club, a members’ club that arranges shoots internationally, to bring a little piece of the Highlands and their bounty to the Brompton Road.

Some of the first brace of grouse to be shot very early in the morning on the day will be expressed down to London to be eaten that evening at The Grill Club at The Brompton Bar & Grill. Preceding a dinner with wine paring will be drinks with The London Shooting Club founder Clive Hetherington, who will give some shooting pointers. “The Glorious Twelfth is considered the earliest date when the grouse are old enough to be shot and eaten,” he explains. They are also considered something of a challenge: “Grouse are the fastest game birds in the United Kingdom and they are totally wild.” Indeed, the upland moors have been preserved and maintained purely as a habitat for grouse.

Then it’s down to the nitty-gritty. Chef and owner Francois O’Neill will demonstrate how to pluck, gut and cook grouse. In brief, he advises frying the bird on both sides, roasting it high for nine minutes then, while it is left to rest for five minutes, making a brown butter sauce. For a more precise recipe, book a £58 place at the head table – for a ringside seat of O’Neill’s show and tell on plucking and gutting.

Why is this day in August such a highly anticipated date? “The shooting season has been closed for five months,” says Hetherington. Even more glorious when the flavour of the Highlands flies down to London the very same day.