Wild game becomes popular

Romy Prasad, 39, born in Guyana and trained in Stratford, Ont., and Paris, says the public is becoming more aware of wild game and its nutritional benefits.

Whenever Romy Prasad, executive chef of CinCin an upscale Mediterranean restaurant in the heart of the Vancover, features fresh game such as Arctic muskox, caribou or buffalo on a menu, "it always sells out."

Prasad, 39, born in Guyana and trained in Stratford, Ont., and Paris, says the public is becoming more aware of wild game and its nutritional benefits. The meat is leaner and healthier, free of chemicals such as growth hormones or antibiotics and there is no fear of mad cow disease.

Prasad, who has worked as chef at Michelin-starred restaurants in France, Spain and Italy and has taught at the Stratford Chef School, says at CinCin, two of the most popular game meats are buffalo and Arctic muskox.

"Buffalo is going to hold its own for a long time because it is familiar to people," he explains. "And the flavour is amazing and it cooks well and easily." Anytime he cooks Arctic muskox, Prasad says, "we are bound to sell it out."

The cull from the hunt of muskox, which is conducted by the Inuit of Banks Island in the Beaufort Sea, is supervised by an Agriculture Canada inspection team as well as the Canadian Inspection Agency during processing, he says. Prasad adds that game like muskox and organically grown farm raised meats are "very expensive." "We are not talking traditional poultry or animals here," he says.

Other wild game served at CinCin include quail which Prasad grills for salads or for main courses he will brush them with a glaze so they get "very crackling." The restaurant's wood fire oven, grill and spit are ideal for cooking game, Prasad says. " And if there are tougher cuts of larger game meat we will do the old style slow cooking -- sometimes overnight."

For bigger more tender cuts, Prasad turns them for three hours on a spit. "Nothing has really changed in cooking game," he says. "Accompaniments are still very rich sauces, reductions, root vegetables, wild mushrooms, dried fruits, mashed potatoes, roasted onions and shallots -- true winter fare."

From The Canadian Press