Sear the meat. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Heat a Dutch oven to 230°C, add a little oil and sear the meat on all sides.

Make the spice bag. Put all the hard spices (bay leaves, cloves, juniper berries, star anise and peppercorns) in a piece of muslin and tie it closed with butcher's twine.

Build the stew. Add the tomato paste and cook it out well to take away the acidity. Roughly chop the onion and garlic and fry them along. Deglaze with the red wine and add the spice bag. Cut the ontbijtkoek into cubes and add it too. Pour in the game stock, water and salt, and add the rosemary and thyme. Place the plate setter in between.

Add the mushrooms. Soak the dried mushrooms in hot water for 15 minutes, drain, and add them to the pot.

Stew low and slow. Let the stew cook for about 2.5 to 3 hours at around 120°C. Check every half hour that there is still enough liquid and top up with a little water when needed.

Poach the pears. Peel the pears all around and cut off the bottom. Bring the wine to the boil with the other ingredients and add the pears. Lay a piece of muslin over them so they stay submerged and poach for about 1.5 hours at 120°C.

Mash. Peel and wash the potatoes and boil them in salted water. Drain, then mash finely with the butter and milk. Season with salt.

Serve. Present the stew with the mash and a poached pear on a nice plate or terracotta dish.