A renowned starred chef at the helm of the Game Fair VIP dinner!
As every year, the Game Fair dinner show will take place on Saturday evening, bringing together more than 1,300 people at the table (and 20,000 around the ring). If the guests will be able as always to enjoy the show and the fireworks, the great novelty will be to be found at the table or rather on the plates. Indeed, Editions Lariviere wanted to bring a unique touch to the kitchen, and not the least. The starred chef Olivier Nasti signs this year the starter and the main course which will obviously be based on game! As a reminder, the chef officiates in the restaurant of the Relais & Châteaux Le Chambard in Kayserberg in Alsace. Ranked in the Top 100 of the best chefs in the world in November 2016, La Table d’Olivier Nasti entered the association of Grandes Tables du Monde in 2017 before completing this list with a tenth place in the International culinary guide, The list. Olivier Nasti was elected cook by Gault&Millau in 2023. No false note for this talented chef who also cultivates a great passion for hunting! Interview, with an open heart!
Hunting: Chief, why do you like to hunt?
Olivier Nasty. When I hunt, it’s mainly to collect game that will be used at the table. When I shoot, I am attentive, I always try to take my animal in the best conditions and after a long observation. If I have the opportunity to use the animal’s offal, I would try to shoot it in the neck so as not to damage the venison. To summarize, I would say that I hunt to eat.
Hunting: Which hunting methods do you prefer? WE. Because of my job as a chef, I work on Saturdays and Sundays, days when we most often hunt on a driven hunt. My hunting days are Monday and Tuesday. So I got into the habit of hunting most often on approach. It’s a hunting method that I greatly appreciate, regardless of the animal being hunted.
Hunting: Why do you like working with game?
WE. I live in a territory and in a region where hunting and traditions are important. Practicing this art has undeniably pushed me to enrich the game cuisine in my restaurant. Today, to be very honest with you, I’m almost bored working with other meats. Whether it’s lamb, veal, or beef, I have the impression that everything has already been done. Currently, I cook more than twenty tons of game per year.
Chasseons: What are your favorite game recipes?
I usually take a deer at the end of summer to make a tartare with caviar (in Alsace the opening is August 23). During the summer, the meats are delicate and fine. At the start of winter, I like to tackle hare à la royale.
Why did you agree to sign the Game Fair dinner?
You know, I accepted because it seems important to me to show hunters the importance of cooking game with finesse. To be very transparent, it’s also a show I’ve never had the pleasure of going to. It is also an opportunity for me to discover it.
Chassons: What is your craziest hunting dream?
I would love to shoot a wild elk on approach in northern Canada, in the Yukon for example. Until then, let your readers not hesitate to push the door of Chambard, finding hunters in my restaurant is always a real pleasure for me, go to the Game Fair!
