Gressingham

Katie Fisher

From Shelf: Core Titles

Gressingham is synonymous with duck, and this book marks a special moment in time as they celebrate 50 years of the family business that was founded by the Buchanan family in 1971. With a comprehensive overview on how to cook duck, the history of the business and over 70 recipes, it's the definitive culinary guide to duck.

Gressingham is synonymous with duck, and this book marks a special moment in time as it celebrates 50 years of the family business that was founded by the Miriam and Maurice Buchanan in 1971. With a comprehensive overview on how to cook duck, the history of the business and over 70 recipes, it's the definitive culinary guide to duck, featuring classic canard dishes such as Duck a l'Orange and confit duck, poultry twists on dishes such as paella and chilli con carne as well as a dedicated chapter of Asian duck recipes including crispy aromatic duck pancakes and duck and pak choi noodles. And although it's duck that is at the centre of the Gressingham business and therefore at the heart of the book, there are also other poultry and game dishes included here, such as Guinea fowl breast with confit potatoes, garlic and parsley and thyme, Zesty roast spatchcock poussin as well as a classic Christmas turkey recipe. The Gressingham Story Having moved to England from Northern Ireland, Maurice and Miriam Buchanan established their farm in Debach, Suffolk with two sheds built by hand and a small flock of chickens. By the late 1980s they had expanded to own three farms, but the salmonella scare of the time contributed to a difficult market and they decided to try something a little different. The Gressingham founders got in contact with a small-scale duck farmer in the Lake District, Peter Dodd, who had begun to develop a cross breed between the popular Pekin duck and the Wild Mallard, which has lots more breast meat and a distinctive gamey flavour. In 1989, the first Gressingham Ducks arrived at the family farm in Debach; 200 ducklings were transported by train from Peterborough to Cambridge and then picked up by Maurice and Miriam. Over the following two years, they perfected the breed and the remarkable Gressingham Duck was born, named after the village where Peter Dodd lived and worked. Sons William and Geoff joined the family business, and the two of them are still in charge of the farm today, finding their niche and becoming the best-known duck farmers in the UK. "We are determined to inspire more people to expand their mealtime repertoire and cook with duck and other speciality poultry to enjoy the fuller flavours and new recipes that are easier to prepare than people might think. The whole point is to create products that our customers enjoy, and provide the simple tips, recipes and how-to guides that make it so easy to enjoy. Their support has always been, and continues to be, really important to us."