Mr Ed is Dead a receipe for Chargrilled horse fillet

Chargrilled Fillet of Horse with smoked mushroom oatcakes and a pomegranate molasses

Should anybody, over the next three weeks, exclaim they are so hungry they could eat a horse, have them gallop down to Canvas restaurant in Grantham St, Hamilton, New Zealand. From yesterday until July 31, Canvas (formerly the Museum Cafe) is offering a main course of "Mr Ed is Dead" - a chargrilled fillet of horse - as part of its entry in this year's Monteith's Wild Food Challenge. Owner-chef David Kerr is serving it with smoked mushroom oatcakes, complete with pomegranate molasses.

"We were looking for a point of difference," said Mr Kerr. "Venison, duck and boar doesn't seem that wild these days. The wild food challenge is all about doing something different." He is nervous about offending people. "It's the last thing we want to do, with the Waikato being such a big equestrian centre.

"For horsey people it probably goes against the grain, but they are also interested in trying it. The most common reaction is people are intrigued. They say `aah you're joking', but then think `maybe I'll give it a try'." Mr Kerr can hardly be blamed for pushing the boundaries after patrons licked the plate clean with his huhu grub pate last year.

Horse is lean, low-fat, high-protein meat and tastes like a cross between beef and venison. You can buy it in supermarkets in France, while Mr Kerr's supplier exports to Belgium, where it is a working class delicacy. Should the racing industry completely collapse, Sir Patrick Hogan might like to start revaluing his thoroughbreds on a fillet basis. Mr Ed Is Dead sells for $29 (including a bottle of Monteith's Celtic Red.)