MONTREAL-- Wild game meat might be coming to a plate near you.
Beginning this fall, the provincial government will be launching a pilot project that will allow chefs to include wild game meat in their cuisine during hunting season.
Until now, restaurants were restricted to serving farm-raised game meat.
Normand Laprise is a top Montreal chef, with a loyal clientele. His longtime restaurant Toque is known for serving delectable dishes, but wild game hasn’t yet been one of them.
“That's one of the best resources we have in Quebec,” he said. “We have a beautiful land, we have a big potential for that. We have so many wild animals in Quebec and we have to have the chance to use it.”
Now, after years of lobbying, Laprise and Chef Martin Picard of Au Pied de Cochon have received some good news.
“What we are doing is opening a window for some of these species to be served in some high-level restaurants in Quebec,” said Yves-Francois Blanchet, the province’s Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment, Wildlife and Parks.
The project will allow ten restaurants across Quebec to serve wild game captured during hunting season — such as beaver, muskrat and squirrel.
The initiative comes as part of the provincial government’s “Food Sovereignty” program, aiming to reinforce Quebec’s identify and heritage.
“It's a first chapter of a new era where we can make sure that we can serve those kinds of animals for our customers as well as people from all around the world,” said Pascal Berube, Quebec’s Minister of Tourism.
If the project proves successful, it is likely that wild game meat will be appearing on the menus of many more restaurants across the province.
