Definitely not the Grocery Store - Deer Hunting 101 with Chef Robin - Update 2

In a room full of 20 something boys from the sticks, I passed my CORE hunting program on Wednesday with 97%. Yeehaw! Mark one for city girl. I will say that it was a painfully easy exam for a pass that permits you to kill living creatures. My bloody sommelier exam required 100x more study.

One piercing question has been rolling about my mind since getting my hunting license. Is hunting for food morally wrong? I realize the issue is more complex than this simple question. A lot of if, ands or buts come to mind, but it's an important question for me to consider before diving into the forests. I posted the question to my Swallow Tail facebook group and I got some impassioned answers.

The moral key for me is to cull only the populations of 'meat' that are abundant, sustainable and "happy". I realize that it sounds really hypocritical to say you will only kill happy animals. What the hell is a happy animal? I can only guess by putting myself in it's hooves. An animal that lives it's life free in the forest is my bet for a happier being rather than one stuck in a feedlot ankle deep in it's own shit. Deer is an abundant species in BC, mule deer in the interior alone number around 165 000 which is probably where I will go for my first hunt. The main threat to deer populations is habitat loss. Believe it or not, hunters are some of BC's most effective land conservationists, because they are nature lovers and see wildlife as a fundamental part of their lives. Even with these facts taken into account, the question is still rumbling about in my noggin. Is hunting a good moral option for food? What do you think?

A few quotes from the facebook discussion...
"No one in Vancouver hunts for subsistence and to put added pressure on already stressed prey animals in the wild is way offside. The argument that an urban hunter is somehow more noble than a consumer at Safeway or somehow has a more profound respect for nature is bullshit!!!" - CH

"I have to disagree with CH. One of the biggest threats on deers in a lot of places is overpopulation. This brings on several other issues like bringing predators closer to human settlement, danger of disease spread and more animals being hit by cars. As for the noble argument, to me it is more noble because the animal I'm eating led a more natural life than the cow I could be eating from Safeway." -MB

"I feel that shark hunting for shark's fin soup is definitely on a different moral pole than Kenyan marathon hunting. I feel that each act of hunting can be assessed to have it's own moral value depending on intent, usage, wastage, ecological impact and suffering of the prey." - NT

Photograph by Shannon Mendes Photography

Definitely not the Grocery Store - Deer Hunting 101 with Chef Robin - Update 1

Just a quick update on the ultimate city slicker chef learning to hunt, yes, me. I was forced back to the firing range last week by my friend who is pitching the story to the CBC, she wanted to take some photos of us shooting. I really was not excited to go back as last time I left slightly shaky and pale. My neck was tweaking all week from the kick back on the shotgun and I was seriously doubting my ability to actually hunt ever.

Here's a link the story on my first hunting hurdle - first time to shoot a gun ever.

But I sucked it up and went with my partner in crime, Helen Stortini (of Growing Chefs fame). She was far more comfortable with the kick and even looked like she had fun last time, damn her! We entered the cozy confines of the concrete box that is DVC indoor shooting range. I put on my fat headset for ear protection and we were ushered into the main shooting area where there was at least 3 other people firing. Guess what, explosives are LOUD. I jumped every time someone let a round loose and had to grab some extra ear plugs just to be able to stay in the room. YES, I am a wimp around weapons. I picked up the shotgun, loaded it and went through the mental check list my father had taught me. Cheek pressed against the stock, butt of the gun nestled tight in the crook of your shoulder, stance forward leaning... fire. Hey! It didn't hurt this time. This could actually be fun. I think the key was wearing a thick sweater that cushioned my shoulder from the recoil. Maybe I can do this. To be continued next week when I go to test for my hunting license.

Wild Edible BC Mushrooms you've never tasted...

Buying "Money's Mushrooms" at Costco is akin to putting margarine on toast. It's not going to kill you, but it is so boring. Head out into BC's backyard to find the real treasures. A handful of them you may know and see on occation in the high end grocery stores in Fall; yellow chanterelle, matsutake (pine), lobster, king bolete (porcini) or oyster mushrooms. These will run you about $27/lb for chanterelle or pine. Ouch! It's far more fun to find them on your own, plus to gain access to hundreds of other edible and delicious mushooms at the same time (here's my shameless plug for Mushroom Hunting Trips in Vancouver).

Above is a shot of seaweed risotto with wild califlower and porcini mushrooms by Chef Ted of Refuel at our last supper club.

This is a puffball - edible and gorgeous...

Oyster Mushrooms - Angel Wings to be exact, there are several varieties of oyster type mushrooms.
You have never eaten these before I would wager - honey mushrooms...

A gorgeous chanterelle... one of the more than a dozen varieties that grow in BC (blue chanterelles, yellow foot, white chanterelles... the list goes on)

A rare opportunity for 30 lucky diners

One of Vancouver’s best Thai chefs comes out of retirement for our guest chef series.



October 16th at 6:30pm
$49 for five courses by donation
Email us for a seat. Only 4 seats left

As part of Swallow Tail’s guest chef series, acclaimed Thai chef, Chef Montri, comes out of retirement to cook a five-course feast.

Chef Montri retired four years ago after 11 successful years as the owner and chef at Montri’s. His restaurant, located at Broadway and Alma, was consistently awarded ‘Best Thai Restaurant in Vancouver’ for each year it was open.

Montri started cooking as a young man in a Bangkok hotel. He then moved to Copenhagen, Denmark where he trained as a chef. After five years in Denmark, he spent another five years as the Chief Steward on a cruise ship. The cruise ship was how he came to Canada. In the late seventies, he cooked with Umberto Menghi at Il Palazzo. In 1990, he opened his first restaurant at Fourth Ave and Trafalgar, which is now home to Q4 Restaurant.

After four years running his own business, which was also consistently awarded best Thai in the city, he left Vancouver to return home to Thailand where he opened the Four Seasons Hotel restaurant in Chang Mai.

“After working for yourself, you can’t go back to working in a corporate environment,” says Montri laughing. “There are too many meetings! You don’t get any work done!”

In 1995, he moved back to Vancouver to open Montri’s. And after 11 successful years of being the city’s favourite and most beloved Thai Restaurant, he decided to retire.

“I’ve become a snowbird,” he says, laughing, about his plans to go back to Thailand for three-months.

But he also has an interest in the supper club scene. He likes the supper club dining set up and has plans of his own to offer private chef services when he returns to Vancouver.

He looks forward to his dinner at Swallow Tail and is collaborating with Chef Robin to prepare the menu where 24 lucky diners will have the rare opportunity to experience dinner with Montri.