Elevate Your Game

Rikki Folger worked three years in Thomas Keller's triple-Michelin Star restaurant The French Laundry. She is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, a front-of-the-house professional, and now, Rikki is a hunter. We talk about the why and how she came to hunting and the plans she is making to develop her hunting skill and experience in the coming months.

Meet Hank Shaw, extraordinary game cook, hunter, gatherer, fisherman, and gardener. Shaw competes with Ruhlman for cookbook space on my personal library shelves. Hank is generous with his expert knowledge and experience. You will learn new things that you will put to immediate use to elevate your game.

We talk about his latest book, Hook Line and Supper. As usual, Hank delivers tremendous value based on his deep competent knowledge of his subject matter. We talk tools, kitchen kit, and specific methods for elevating your fish game.

Get on in here!

A quote from the introduction of the book Braise by Michael Ruhlman:

“To braise is to transform. A grilled salmon fillet or steak may be delicious, but these are, at their most basic level, heat and serve items; cooked, they're pretty much exactly what they were, to begin with, only hot, with the flavorful exterior. A braise, on the other hand, is a metamorphosis.

“When you braise, you begin with a tough, often inexpensive cut of meat, and through your care and knowledge as a cook, you turn it into something tender and succulent and exquisite, the opposite of what you begin with. That is true cooking, cooking that engages both mind and soul. It's why, of all fundamental cooking techniques, braising is my favorite.”

There are more books by Michael Ruhlman on my shelves than any other writer. I have Charcuterie, Salumi, and just added Pate, Confit, and Rillette: Recipes From the Craft of Charcuterie. All three of these books are co-written with kitchen wizard and Chef Brian Polcyn. In addition to these, I have Braise (the topic of this podcast) and Ratio, which changes my kitchen and baking experience by providing a culinary compass.

Michael talks about braising and shares some trucs. (The French word for tricks, and he has a few up his sleeve that he graciously shares. These will change your experience and the experience your guests have at your table.)

In this episode, we explore late-onset hunting with Dr. Mark Juhasz. There are a number of stages in life where hunters are recruited from. I am one of those hunters that delayed getting into other game until my late 30's. Dr. Juhasz has just decided he is going to hunt and has started in a big way. This is his story.

My brother took me hunting the first time when I was 39 years old. I am what you call a late-on-set hunter, but we'll get to that in another podcast. If you want to learn to hunt, the best way to learn is to find a competent hunter who is patient enough to take you along and teach you the myriad of field skills that are critical to successful hunting.

Meet Peter Fowler my brother, my mentor, and a pretty funny guy.

Kate Hill (Instagram@katedecomont) is a cook, teacher, writer, tour guide, and author.

In this first podcast with Kate, we cover the process of making confit. Next podcast with Kate she joins us to take that confit and use it to make cassoulet. Confit has been elevated to a fancy-hard to-pronounce highly-desired food served in French restaurants. The ironic thing is that Confit––the process––was developed centuries before refrigeration as a way to survive the winter. Nothing fancy about that, just farmers trying to survive.

Imagine having dinner at the Beasley's. Paul Beasley hosts Canada In The Rough, Canada's most-watched hunting show. Elevate Your Game talks with the middle Beasley about why he chose bear for our first (Imaginary) meal together. And how his wife has moved from a non-hunting, no-wild-game-on-the-table to punching tags herself and serving game more often than not on their own family table where she, Paul, and their five kids gather to chow down on what comes off the CampChef and other wonderful places game is prepared.

Elevate Your Game is my new podcast coming June 1, 2021, or before. This is my trailer.