The Royal (Name) Game

I awoke this morning to the news that HRH Duchess of Cambridge - Kate Middleton to the common man - had been admitted to hospital in the early stages of labour for royal sprog number two, and it was later announced that she had given birth to a girl, the first Princess of Cambridge to be born for 180 years, apparently. Hardcore royal fans had already been waiting outside the hospital for weeks, presumably as they have little better to do except wear red-white-and-blue and wave flags, but speculation as to the gender and name of the new baby had been rife for even longer. For those wishing to play the royal name game, the bookies are possibly still taking bets, though no doubt the odds for the favourite girls' names Alice, Elizabeth, Charlotte and Victoria will have been slashed now we know the baby's gender. Those punters who'd banked on a James, Arthur or Alexander will be sorely disappointed. Personally I was hoping for something a little more unusual for George's new sibling, such as "The Dragon" or "Townhouse" (think about it), but never mind.

Anyway, all this is of course just a very convoluted way of introducing another tin I tried recently - Baxter's Royal Game soup from their "Favourites" range. The game in question here is venison and pheasant, illustrated in part with a deer on the label, which reminded me of that scene in The Queen when Helen Mirren spots a stag when her Land Rover breaks down while out on the Balmoral estate. But Baxters have better reason for calling the soup "Royal" than just that, as they are in fact royal warrant holders ("By appointment to Her Majesty the Queen - Purveyors of Scottish Specialities"). I've never known whether holding a royal warranty means the companies do actually provide a supply of their products for the family, or whether it's just a ceremonial title. If they don't, Her Maj may be interested to know that Baxter's Soups are currently on offer at Sainsburys at 4 for £3 (I don't know how many tins of soup she gets through in a year, but at that price it might be worth stocking up).




The back of the tin provides a bit of background to the soup, apparently penned by Audrey Baxter herself (which gives it the slight feel of the bits of blurb written 'by' Mr Kipling on the back of his packets of "exceedingly good" cakes, though the very informative company website tells us that she actually is a real person who gives her seal of approval to all products): "I'll never forget the story about my grandmother Ethel, making this soup in her kitchen. It's the very first recipe she created and what a soup to start on! Highland venison and pheasant in a rich stock make it a soup of distinction. A crisp Autumn day is the only accompaniment you need!"

Audrey doesn't seem willing to tell us this unforgettable story itself though. Unless that was the story, in which case, it doesn't seem all that memorable. Anyway, it might not be autumn now, but she makes the soup sound quite appealing, so I was looking forward to giving it a try. On opening it though, it looked rather more like a tin of gravy than a soup, which didn't really seem to alter at all after heating - it looked like a bowl of gravy. I had also been hoping for some big meaty chunks of venison and pheasant like the venison stew from a while ago, to make a soup fit for royalty. But here they seemed to be rather scrappy looking bits, almost like mince, and indistinguishable as to which had once been feathered, and which antlered.

Taste-wise though it did fare better - it was certainly a rich, meaty stock, far more substantial than just gravy, with a strong note of gaminess to it. Also very noticeable though was the flavour of offal, which I hadn't been expecting, having not spotted that venison liver also featured further down the ingredients list. Despite therefore being present in smaller proportion than the venison meat and pheasant, it did seem to dominate. That didn't bother me too much, as I like a nice bit of offal, but for anyone who isn't fans, I think it would be way too overpowering. Perhaps all the various pieces of meat were so finely chopped to make the liver less noticeable in terms of look and texture, but there was certainly no hiding the taste.

Would I buy it again? Probably not; it was a bit different and made for a nice enough lunch, but despite the mention of Granny Ethel creating the recipe in her kitchen, and the exacting standards of Audrey Baxter today, it definitely felt like something mass-produced rather than a homely, comforting "soup of distinction" - again, not all that memorable. But of course I was missing the "crisp Autumn day" she recommended as an accompaniment, so in theory I should give it another go after a long, blustery walk in the Highlands later in the year. But with plenty of soups to try, not to mention other tins, it seems unlikely.

To go back to the new royal arrival briefly, how about Audrey or Ethel as a name for Kate and Wills' new baby, if they wanted to jump on the band-waggon of reviving old-fashioned names? Both mean "noble", apparently, which would be fitting enough, but if had it been a boy, they could have gone along similar lines with Aubrey - meaning "fair ruler of the little people" - or Ethelred, which would really have harked back to the royal family's distant ancestors. But Alice, Elizabeth, Charlotte and Victoria seem more likely. I just hope they don't go for Louise - otherwise one of my favourite pubs in London, the Princess Louise, will end up jam-packed with tourists and the red-white-and-blue brigade. But nevertheless, congratulations and cheers to all the family.