Wild Game Co

Opening of Mac and Wild Restaurant by Wild Game Co

Andy Waugh

Andy Waugh, the brains behind Wild Game Co, founded the company in August 2010 after moving to London from rural Inverness-shire where he was born and bred. Wild Game Co, in case you are not familiar with them, have been bringing delicious slices of the Scottish highlands to Londoners in the form of wild game and venison over the last five years.

Arriving in London out of love for a young lass with ambition on her mind, Andy decided to follow his passion for food. So he began running a stall with Fiona Richmond in conjunction with Scottish Food and Drink at Borough Market which led to him then running his own stall selling meat at Broadway Market in Hackney’s London Fields and at Whitecross Street Market in the Barbican area. By then the street food movement had taken off and Andy found that while folks loved to eat game they were a little shy of buying raw meat to take home and cook themselves.

Listening to what people wanted Andy set up a pop up collaboration with Bonnie Gull, a Scottish fish crew who were on the street food scene at the same time. You may well be familiar with them already, offering some of the best fish and chips in London out of their two main establishments on Foley Street and Exmouth Market. With great success Andy followed up with another two pop ups, Burger Shack on Charlotte street and Struie Road with Workshop Coffee co located on Clerkenwell road for which he has been recognised, winning awards from the Young Foodies Street Food 2012 then Burger Fest 2015 and Signature Burgers Award 2015 at the National Burger Awards.

Ready to take the next big step in the food world we can all look forward to an incredible casual dining experience that focuses on the quality of the produce and less on fancy frills and plush cushions.  The new permanent restaurant which will open on Wednesday of this week, 5th of August 2015, will offer diners a menu featuring the likes of Venison Tartar, Venison Biltong, Scallops and Mackerel as well as other seasonal produced sourced as much as possible from Scotland. Olia Hercules would be proud to see curing and pickling made a feature of including pickled walnuts and plums which can be washed down with unusual refreshments such as beetroot wine.

The restaurant will be furnished simply with Scottish leathers and wooden tables and chairs set in a old building on Great Titchfield Street at number 65 bearing the name Mac & Wild. Andy wants to make the restaurant accessible while serving top quality food. You can expect to pay between £6 – 9 for a starter and £10 – 15 for a main.

Coming from a family who have run a butchery business for over 30 years, Andy is well placed to source the finest cuts of highland meat and wants to share that with others, “I’m really proud of my family and this will be an extension of them and their future.”

I for one can’t wait to visit the restaurant and I hope you are as excited as I am. If you decide to visit or have experienced some of Andy’s produce through one of his stalls or pop up’s please leave comments on your experiences.