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Video: Reporter Katie
Alston tries out the new menu

by Katie Alston

A taste of the exotic is now
on offer in the unlikely setting of the Royal Oak in Blean.

Roast dinners are being replaced
with wildebeest and kangaroo, and ploughmen’s lunches with
crocodile, python and zebra as customers gobble up the rare
opportunity to taste a long list of unusual meats.

The new menu was introduced last
week and has so far had a positive response. The idea came from
landlord David Russell who took over the boozer in Blean Common two
months ago.

After living in Australia for seven
years and travelling around the world the 47 year-old, who manages
the pub with partner Helen Tanton, 45, decided to offer his
customers the opportunity to try something a bit different.

He said: “As far as I know there is
nowhere else locally that sells such strange food.

“The new menu has certainly got
people talking and in the pub industry that is never a bad thing.
When people first saw what we were offering they thought it was a
joke.

“It is important to create a unique
selling point and I think it can be safely said that this is ours.
Not many people have been able to taste the likes of reindeer or
ostrich.

“As soon as I found a supplier I
knew it was the right thing to do. We will keep providing these
weird yet wonderful meats for our customers as long as they want
them. Me and my two chefs worked hard to find the best ways
of cooking the meats and we are still experimenting. There
aren’t many cookbooks with recipes for what we are offering. Many
people would also be surprised to find out that many of the meats
are very good for you.

“Bison for example is 97 per cent
fat free and zebra is incredibly rich in protein, so there are
health benefits to eating these foods. We still have the
traditional menu but people are getting more adventurous and
wanting to try something different.”