Fancy a squirrel pancake?

9:47am Tuesday 16th October 2007

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A TOP restaurant is serving up free squirrel pancakes to hungry diners.

Peking duck-style squirrel pancakes are being offered to diners at The Famous Wild Boar Hotel, at Crook, near Windermere, in Cumbria.

The hotel is giving diners the chance to try the canapes free of charge.

The greys were caught in the hotel's 72-acre woodland grounds and have been prepared by head chef Marc Sanders.

Hotel general manager Andy Lemm said: "Although we do still have red squirrels, the greys are everywhere. Our diners seemed to enjoy the squirrel pancakes and I thought they tasted rather nice, a bit like rabbit."

In Northumberland, Lord Redesdale's Red Squirrel Protection Partnership specialises in trapping and despatching greys to protect the reds.

The partnership has killed 4,521 greys since January, and Lord Redesdale said: "The problem is that when we catch and despatch greys, there is nothing we can do with them.

"We would like to be a supplier of grey squirrels. With an estimated five million greys in the country, there are enough of them to go round."

James Cookson runs the Flying Fox sales and marketing venture for food and rural businesses, based near Morpeth, which also features the Comfort at Meldon Park restaurant.

He said: "Grey squirrels can be eaten and there is no reason why they shouldn't be eaten. It makes sense if you are catching something to make use of it.

"We have some grey traps set at the moment and I would be willing to try it, without a doubt. If we could get enough greys and a suitable recipe then I can see no reason why it shouldn't be on the menu.

"Our reds are disappearing, and perhaps the more greys that are eaten, the better it is for the reds."

Carri Nicholson, manager of the Save Our Squirrels project based at Northumberland Wildlife Trust, said: "It is far more ecologically and environmentally sound to find a use for what is being trapped.

"A number of places in Northumberland are thinking of having grey squirrel on the menu. I haven't tried grey squirrel but people I know who have say it tastes like chicken used to taste when it tasted like chicken.

"The Americans have numerous recipes for grey squirrel, with the most popular being Brunswick Stew, which is casseroled squirrel."

Last year Lord Inglewood, who lives near Penrith in Cumbria, warned the red squirrel will soon become extinct if the non-native grey population is allowed to go on increasing.

He suggested then that one way of dealing with the problem would be to foster a market for grey squirrel meat. He said: "What about celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver promoting it for school dinners? I have never actually eaten a grey squirrel but I am prepared to give it a go."