CITY clubbers have  been filmed trying rabbit for a celebrity chef’s  new show.

Although Timepiece  is well known for its  post-dance food offerings, something different altogether was on  the menu when Hugh  Fearnley-Whittingstall  filmed a segment for his  latest show.

The chef, who came to  the city club last month  with the production  crew for his River Cottage show, was making  an impassioned effort to  get wild rabbit back onto the British menu and  accepted by the taste  buds of the younger generation.

Armed with  deep-fried rabbit legs, a  mayonnaise  dip and hot  rabbit buns, he headed  to the Exeter nightclub  to offer revellers something different.

George Sloan, who  runs Timepiece in Little  Castle Street with business partner Rob Skinner, said customers and  staff alike had enjoyed  the evening.

Mr Sloan said: “They  asked if they could come  down and cook rabbits  at the club and after having a bit of a giggle about  it, I said why not.

“I think it was about  half a dozen members of  his production team  came to the club on a  Thursday night and  cooked the rabbit in  front of the club and  gave it to customers to  see what their reaction  was and it went down  very well.

“It was filmed by the  production company  and the staff and customers really enjoyed  it.”

Mr Sloan said a wide  variety of customers  were at the club that  night and that all the  rabbit was eaten before  he could try some.

“I said to the chef to  keep me some back,”  said Mr Sloan. “But  when I got to the counter  they said they had forgotten to keep some so I  never got to taste it.

“But they did invite  me down to their place  in Dorset and I think  they enjoyed their time  at Timepiece.

“I promised that after  Christmas and the new  year I would pop down  and have lunch there.”

He added: “Everyone  had a great time and  they were a lovely bunch  of people.

“They also said if anything was going on in  this part of the county  that they could do at the  club they would keep us  in mind. Now I am just  looking forward to  watching the show.”

A spokeswoman for  the programme said:  “We chose Timepiece  because of its excellent  location in Exeter, and  its unique layout.

“Timepiece presented  us with a popular bar,  nightclub, a large number of people and a  working outdoor  kitchen for River Cottage chef Tim Maddams  to use. Filming was a  great success and apparently the club-goers  liked the rabbit.”

The show airs on  Thursday on Channel 4  at 8pm.