Redhead turns Tufty into a tasty meal as 'it would be a shame to waste good meat' Chef Jess Noy enjoys turning squirrels into samosas, pies and pasties Her catering business has caught the eye of Bake Off judge Mary Berry She says grey squirrels have to be culled and meat shouldn't be wasted By Sarah Oliver for Mail on Sunday Jess Noy has been cooking squirrel for years thanks to a ready supply from her gamekeeper father They're cute and fluffy, and can provide hours of entertainment in our gardens with their gravity-defying antics. But a new breed of chefs prefers grey squirrels chopped up, cooked with herbs and spices, and served with salad. Among them is Jess Noy, who enjoys turning Tufty into samosas, pasties, pies and burgers. The 26-year-old redhead has been cooking squirrel since her teens, along with rabbit, pheasant, partridge, pigeon, venison and duck, thanks to a ready supply from her father, a gamekeeper in East Anglia. Her catering business The Gamekeeper's Daughter has caught the eye of Great British Bake Off star Mary Berry and The Mail on Sunday's food critic Tom Parker Bowles. Jess said: "Squirrel is developing a following among foodies - it turns up on restaurant menus now and at food fairs. It's a good, tasty meat because squirrels have a completely natural diet. Last month celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall was attacked by animal rights campaigners after he revealed he regularly cooks squirrels. Jess said: "Some people say it's cruel but grey squirrels have to be culled and it would be shameful to waste good meat." Her first commercial squirrel dish was a nutty pasty she made for a farmers" market in her native Suffolk three years ago. Since then she has displayed her skills on various TV cooking shows. For The Mail on Sunday, Jess prepared squirrel goujons with a salad of leaves, beetroot, pear and hazelnuts. The squirrel was jointed, dipped in breadcrumbs flavoured with smoked paprika, garlic, oregano, thyme, rosemary and chilli, then fried. It was gamey, tasty and not dissimilar to rabbit - but under all that grey fluff there was only enough for one very small starter. The 26-year-old redhead enjoys turning Tufty into samosas, pasties, pies and burgers and says it would be a 'shame to waste good meat' as grey squirrels need to be culled.