Wild Game Catering for Weddings | The Game Larder
Wild Game Catering for Weddings
Wild game catering for weddings is a full-service food offering that replaces conventional poultry and beef with 2 to 3 species of British game, such as pheasant, venison and partridge, and delivers oven-ready dishes to the venue for a per-head cost that typically lands between £38 and £72 for a 100-guest table. The service covers menu design, portioning, cooking instructions, and on-site or drop-off delivery, so the couple and the wedding manager handle plating and timing rather than a catering company's full kitchen crew.
At The Game Larder the catering built on wild game model treats every wedding as a 2-course or 3-course structure: a cold starter, a roasted or braised game main, and a single dessert that is not game-derived. Each dish arrives pre-portioned for 20, 50, 60, 100 or 300 covers and sealed in labelled trays that carry the oven temperature and resting time on the lid. The company is a new, unaffiliated project; it does not operate under any previous brand and sources its game through 12 independent estates across the south and west of England.
Game catering near you, delivered is the logistics promise: the kitchen in Gloucestershire packs, chills and dispatches on the morning of the event, with a 90-minute delivery window that the couple confirms at booking. For a 100-person wedding the van carries 12 trays of main course, 8 trays of starter, 6 trays of dessert, plus the dry goods and 4 carafes of sauce. A 50-person wedding scales the same ratios to half, and a 300-person celebration splits the load across 2 vans arriving 30 minutes apart so the kitchen at the venue is never flooded.
Per-Head Pricing by Guest Count
The per-head price of game catering for a wedding drops as the guest count rises, because the fixed costs of the kitchen shift, the van hire and the 2-person delivery team are spread across more covers. The table below is the current 2026 schedule for a 2-course wedding menu (starter and main, dessert excluded).
| Guest count | Per-head price (2 courses) | Per-head price (3 courses) | Minimum order |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | £72 | £84 | 20 covers |
| 40 | £58 | £68 | 40 covers |
| 50 | £52 | £62 | 50 covers |
| 60 | £48 | £58 | 60 covers |
| 100 | £42 | £54 | 100 covers |
| 300 | £38 | £49 | 300 covers |
A 100-person wedding at the 2-course rate therefore costs £4,200 before any extras such as a carving station, a game-teriyaki glaze upgrade, or a 2-hour on-site chef presence that adds £450. A 50-person wedding at the same tier costs £2,600. The 3-course tier adds a single dessert (typically a poached pear with port reduction) and raises the per-head figure by £10 to £12.
Game Catering Menus and Oven-Ready Dishes
Game catering menus and oven-ready dishes are built around 4 core preparations that the kitchen can produce at every guest count without changing the recipe. The couple picks one preparation per course; the kitchen then portion-scales the quantities to match the headcount.
- Roast pheasant breast with a 60-second oven finish, served with roast parsnip and a thyme jus
- Braised venison loin, pre-cooked to 54°C internal and finished in the venue oven for 12 minutes, with celeriac purée
- Pan-fried partridge, 2 birds per 1 cover, with apple compote and a mustard cream
- Cold game terrine (pheasant and partridge blend), sliced to 8 mm and served with pickled onion and a 12-year-old sherry jelly
Each tray is vacuum-sealed at 1°C, labelled with the dish name, the oven setting (for example 190°C for 12 minutes), and a 2-line plating note. The couple or the venue staff follow the lid; no kitchen skill beyond an oven and a carving knife is required at the venue.
From Field to Fork in a 5-Day Window
From field to fork is the 5-day supply chain that The Game Larder runs for every wedding order. On day 1 the estate shoots or the farm releases the birds and venison to the processor. On day 2 the game arrives at the Gloucestershire kitchen, is aged 48 hours for pheasant and partridge (venison is aged 72 hours), and is portioned. On day 3 the dishes are cooked, cooled to 1°C and vacuum-sealed. Day 4 is a rest day for the meat. On day 5, the morning of the wedding, the trays are packed, chilled, and dispatched. This 5-day cadence means the couple must confirm the final headcount by 17:00 on day 3, 72 hours before delivery.
What Changes the Cost
The cost of game catering for a wedding moves when 3 variables shift: the species mix, the number of courses, and the service radius from Gloucestershire. Swapping a pheasant main for a venison main adds £6 per head because the venison is braised twice and the labour is higher. Adding the 3rd course adds £10 to £12 per head as shown in the pricing table. Travel beyond a 60-mile radius adds a flat £120 to the van hire, and a 2-van dispatch for a 300-cover event adds a further £180.
Booking and Timeline
To book game catering for a wedding, the couple submits the venue address, the estimated guest count, and the event date at least 6 weeks in advance. The kitchen returns a 2-page menu sheet with 3 starter options and 3 main options within 3 working days. A £500 deposit holds the date; the balance is invoiced 14 days before the event. The final headcount deadline is 72 hours before delivery, and the delivery window is a 90-minute slot that the couple agrees with the venue manager. No on-site setup is needed beyond a clean bench, a 190°C oven, and 12 minutes of carving time per main course.