After years of trading just within the perimeter of Borough Market, kid goat meat vendor, Gourmet Goat, has upgraded to a fixed outlet inside the market. I paid a visit, dabbled my way through the menu and walked away keen to sing the praises of their kid goat creations.
It’s not just me taking notice of these slow food heroes though. The longtime street food purveyor was recently announced as one of three finalists for Best Street Food or Takeaway in this year’s BBC Food and Farming Awards.
Despite growing numbers of fans and the recognition from the Beeb, a lot of folks still reckon goat meat is a secondary choice and best eaten doused in a load of hepped up sauce. Hey I love curried goat too, but a far better way to think about this too often overlooked meat – or at least the months old kid goat meat cooked at Gourmet Goat – is along the lines of a blend of lamb and suckling pig: full of flavour, super moist and ultra tender.
Gourmet Goat partners (and partners in life) Nadia and Nick Stokes reckon there are plenty of good reasons to get goaty. And I reckon a visit to their new fixed unit inside Borough Market makes an ideal reason to pay them a visit. If you’ve never tried kid goat meat before – or you’re already in the nom-nom know about how yummy it is – Gourmet Goat is a safe bet for quality eats.
For starters, kid goat is just really super tasty – and I can attest to that. I loved everything I sampled during my recent visit to GG’s new digs– especially the slow roast (served in a specially sourced pillowy pitta with spinach and radish salad, pomegranate molasses dressing, tzatziki and fresh green chilli sauce for £9, or as a small or large salad in a box with tzatziki and fresh green chilli sauce for £5/£10). A killer kofta homemade with lean mince was a close second for me (it ranges in price from £6 to £7.50). Yep, there’s an Eastern Med thing going on with the recipes, owning to Nadia’s Cypriot upbringing.
Kid goat is a healthier leaner meat too, with the lowest amount of saturated fat and cholesterol than other meats similarly cooked. Sad thing is though, there’s way too much kid meat going to waste as well. Most goats raised in Britain are done so for dairy products. So, every year thousands of billies are slaughtered shortly after birth. Gourmet Goat sources its meat from farms Nadia and Nick trust where goats are reared ethically and with plenty of room to roam.
With the new fixed unit, Gourmet Goat has the more space and less worry about setting up and thus can play around with what to offer and focus more on the food. As long as that gorgeous slow roast remains prominent on the menu, this is terrific news!
Gourmet Goat is located at Unit 27A Rochester Walk, Borough Market, SE1 9AF. Find out more at gourmetgoat.co.uk.
