Poached gulls' eggs on Masterchef (1 Viewer)

[rockfowl]

I saw this last night also, wondered where the hell they got the gulls eggs from, and was equally disgusted by the variety of threatened fish involved - I thought the Beeb really let themselves down last night.

 

[redeyedvideo]

If they are being harvested in a sustainable and responsible fashion is this really a problem? Any more than fising or hunting for the purposes of providing food?

Have you missed out an 'h' or is it a 't'?

Licenses for such items are controlled by the statuary agencies such as Natural England, Scottish Natural Heritage, etc. See here for details.

I really don't have a problem with this even though I wouldn't choose to eat them myself. The problem is that once it becomes trendy the demand becomes higher, so if they can't be sourced from the UK the likelihood is that eggs will be shipped in from abroad and who's to know whether they're gulls, Sociable Plovers, Bald Ibis or anything else once they're on your plate?

I know someone who had them at Marco Pierre White's restaurant this year and he paid a huge price for them. And where large amounts of money are to be made, that's when the problems start.

 

[Isurus]

new guidelines are apparently in place due to the consumption of endangered fish on the show so presumably in future we won't have to worry about whether an unusual ingredient is or isn't sustainable.

 

[Imaginos]

Darn, bang goes my plan to wow them with braised tiger's eyes & rhino horn on a bed of ghost orchid next series.

Back to the drawing board :-C

 

[Nick Tanner]

Presumably when these eggs are harvested the gulls temporarily desert the colony, given that Mediterranean Gulls often nest in BHG colonies what measures are taken to ensure that Med Gull eggs are not taken as well?

Nick

 

[scary-canary]

BBC's reply to my complaint

I got a standard fob off when I wrote to BBC complaints...


Thank you for your e-mail regarding 'MasterChef: the Professionals' on 22 October.
I'm sorry to note that you felt it was offensive and irresponsible for chefs to use wild gulls' eggs in their menus for this programme.
We ask all contestants before they start filming if they have any moral, religious or allergy objections to cooking any particular food and no one is ever forced to cook anything against their will.
When cooking the menus the contestants understand they are expected to use ingredients that fall within the laws of the United Kingdom. Within that guideline what is chosen to be cooked comes down to personal conscience - in the same way that we don't dictate to restaurants what should be on their menus.
We understand that the production and use of certain ingredients can be contentious issues and so we always try to keep a balanced response to such use. I would also like to assure you that we've registered your comments on our audience log. This is the internal report of audience feedback we compile daily for the programme makers, commissioning executives, and senior management within the BBC.
Thanks again for contacting us.
Regards
Stuart Webb
BBC Complaints

 

[John P]

As far as I can remember, the only site in the U.K. that permits to collect the eggs of BHG's, or any other species, from is Needs Oar Point. The colony is massive

Not any more it's not: 328 pairs in 2005 - all unsuccessful - and nothing of any significance since.

 

[GDK]

I saw this last night also, wondered where the hell they got the gulls eggs from, and was equally disgusted by the variety of threatened fish involved - I thought the Beeb really let themselves down last night.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in marine ecology and the history of fishing. Its a well researched and readable summation of where, when and how we have depleted resources in our marine environment.

"The Unnatural History of the Sea: The Past and Future of Humanity and Fishing" by Callum Roberts:

http://www.york.ac.uk/res/unnatural-history-of-the-sea/


...and for those interested in eating marine ecology then take a look here and at the links provided on that website:

http://www.york.ac.uk/res/unnatural-history-of-the-sea/seafood/index.htm :eat:

 

[Neal Warnock]

FYI

See article. Perhaps already mentioned?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6268304.ece