Don’t Call the Squirrel Meat Lasagne a PR Stunt

This article originally appeared on Munchies.

The celeriac lasagne served at Native, a restaurant in London’s Borough Market, contains thin slices of the nutty root vegetable and a garlic-laden ragout, laced with pickled walnuts and cheese curds. Under the crispy breadcrumb topping, deep within that rich tomato sauce, is a light brown meat: squirrel.

Contrary to the tabloid Photoshop jobs of severed squirrel tails that emerged when news broke of Native’s lasagne earlier this month, the £12 squirrel starter is a delicate, carefully constructed dish. To me, the meat tastes like a leaner, gamier chicken – or a less earthy rabbit.

Despite the recent media coverage (customers have since travelled from as far as Germany to try the lasagne), Native head chef Ivan Tisdall-Downes insists that the point of the dish – made from what he calls “waste meat” – wasn’t to manufacture a PR stunt.

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