The Truffler: Venison, The Wedgwood Awards, South West Mackerel Handline Fishery

As they seem to be exerting an influence over what becomes of the country's venison, I have to drag the royal family into this. On their Balmoral Estate, red deer are culled, possibly by those huntsmen and women the Windsors, and hung in the Balmoral game larders before they're taken away to be processed, matured and delivered to butchers and restaurants. Now, a chuffed Selfridges is selling the royal venison for upwards of £10 a kilo. Slightly less exclusively, the idea of stocking wild venison in Sainsbury's, which until now has sold only the farmed variety, apparently came from that real food activist, HRH the Prince of Wales. He wrote to Sainsbury's chief executive Sir Peter Davis in the summer to ask if the supermarket group could help venison dealers hit by foot-and-mouth disease. Wild venison has always had a ready export market, although home sales have been catching up. Sainsbury's is the only multiple to stock wild venison, selling it in Scottish stores and some branches south of the border, where it expects interest from game lovers. It costs £2.99 a kilo. It doesn't taste very different from the farmed type, but wild venison comes from deer who roam freely and eat a natural diet. The Sainsbury's supply is from Forestry Commission woods, and is culled by rangers, not for sport but to control numbers. Other stores will still stock farmed venison, which still has the advantage of being lean red meat that's low in cholesterol.

If you're a real deer bore, you will know that roe deer is more highly prized as venison than the smaller, more widely available and stronger-tasting red deer. Donald Russell Direct, the pukka Scottish mail-order butcher (by appointment to HM the Queen, though she probably doesn't need to buy deer from there), sells wild roe deer. Until the end of February, he has reduced from £69 to £49 the price of a box that includes haunches, loin steaks and diced meat for casseroles. There's a smaller box for £49, which isn't on special offer. Haunches are down from £15.50 a kilo to £12, too. Donald Russell Direct, Harlaw Road, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire (01467 629666/ www.donaldrusselldirect.com

Tough gig time. The Wedgwood Awards sets itself the task of finding the best chef in the world, henceforth known as the World Master of Culinary Arts. Judging panels in Australia, Hong Kong, France, Italy, Japan, the USA and the UK have drawn up shortlists, and must choose one of their nominees to represent that country against the best from the rest of the world. UK jury members included Nigella Lawson, Rick Stein and Sir Terence Conran. Among their nominees were Gordon Ramsay, Michel Roux junior, Rose Gray of the River Café, Dublin's Kevin Thornton, and the only one without a Michelin star and cooking British food, Fergus Henderson. But it was Frenchman Raymond Blanc who was chosen to represent the UK at the final in Paris in May. Pity those poor judges from around the world who have to make that difficult decision....

The stars were out again just after the Wedgwood Awards. Michelin stars, this time – still the much-debated arbiter of excellence. This year, there were few surprises, but the Star Inn at Harome in Yorkshire was one of two pubs elevated to one-star status, and Nahm in London was the first Thai restaurant to get star treatment. The legendary Walnut Tree Inn near Abergavenny received a star for the first time, and Heston Blumenthal's cutting-edge cooking at the Fat Duck earned him a second. But it's no change at the top: the UK's two three-starred restaurants are still Michel Roux's Waterside Inn and Gordon Ramsay's eponymous restaurant. Not Raymond Blanc's, note.

One last name check for Prince Charles. He gave the South West Mackerel Handline Fishery their environment standard from the Marine Stewardship Council. The MSC works to reverse the decline in the world's fisheries by promoting environmentally responsible stewardship of what should be a renewable food resource. This mackerel fishery off the south coast of Cornwall is the latest to receive its eco seal of approval. The mackerel is caught with handlines from a fishery that accounts for less than 1 per cent of the UK quota but supports up to 150 fishing vessels and 500 jobs. The season lasts from September to April, so now is the time to look out for mackerel with the MSC label.