The Restaurant Industry and Game Hunting

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Foraging for food produce in parks and woodlands is becoming quite a fad right now. In fact, more and more chefs are looking at foraging not just as something to give their dishes a twist but something as a hobby, a pastime that can help them relax. Right now, there is another fad that is becoming just as popular, and this is game hunting.

The Revolutionary Chefs

Okay, so maybe we cannot really call them revolutionary chefs as game hunting has always been here since time immemorial. However, they are revolutionary in the sense that they are going back to basics, hunting for meat they put on their guests’ plates.

These new breed of chefs have no qualms of going to the woodlands and forests in search of game. Not only do they hunt game themselves, but they also shoot and butcher them as well.

There are a lot of reasons why these chefs are choosing to hunt, shoot, and kill their own venison rather than purchasing them from their providers or wild game ranches.

These chefs want to take accountability for the meat they put on the plates. They want to know exactly what they are getting and are offering their guests.
They find inspiration in game hunting. They have the meat product, and now the question is, what do they do with it? Game meat is infused with flavors and textures, particularly since it was left to freely forage for food in its natural habitat, and making them into a special dish loved by the guests then becomes a challenge as well as a form of expression in expressing their own culinary skills and talents.
They want to “connect” with the product. Let us face it, there is a big “disconnect” right now between the chefs and their products, what with pre-plucked as well as pre-packed meat products. Through game hunting, they are once more getting reconnected with the produce. Game hunting gives them a deeper appreciation of the animal.

Laws, Regulations, and Public Health Concerns

Although game hunting is becoming quite a fad among chefs, there are still those that think using the meat from game hunting is a big no-no, especially if it is going to be served to the public.

The USDA, for one, states that restaurant should only serve meat products that have been slaughtered in authorized slaughter houses. Furthermore, the meat coming from these slaughter houses should be inspected according to the rigid laws and regulations. The USDA also states that using wild game meat in restaurants opens the public up to a host of diseases which can be transferred from the animals to people. These diseases are not only dangerous but can be deadly as well. Take for example brucellosis, a disease carried by wild boar. Brucellosis can cause fever as well as severe abdominal cramping and pain, among other signs and symptoms. This is exactly why the USDA wants to regulate the use of wild game meat in restaurants. The department wants to protect the public from diseases carried by wild game.

What about “Farm Raised” Wild Game?

Farm raised wild game, this sounds so contradictory. How can farm raised wild game be called wild, right?

There are wild game ranches all over the country, and at these ranches, wild game are allowed to roam freely. These ranches seek to provide the animals a place that closely resembles their natural habitat. Of course, these animals can forage for foods that they usually eat in the wild, and they are just as stress free as they would naturally have been in their natural habitats.

Now, what some chefs then do is to visit these wild game ranches and hunt their game there. There is an inspector present who inspects the meat, especially when it comes to slaughtering and butchering the animal. They also inspect the game meat prior to refrigerating it.

This is the right way for many chefs who love cooking with wild game meat. Not only is the meat safe for consumption, but the public’s health is also safeguarded properly.

However, the revolutionary chefs will beg to differ. This is not the same as hunting for wild game in their natural habitats, because this is just an imitation. For them, hunting for game is going into the forest, shooting the animal themselves, and getting their hands dirty in butchering, cleaning, and dressing the animal.

To each his own, I say.

Image Credit: ourawesomeplanet.com

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