The Wild Chef

Martin and Hugue go deer hunting in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, but this time, they're hunting with crossbows, not guns.

Martin and Hugue take off to Kamouraska, the eel capital of Quebec to fish for eel in a tractor. After catching their dinner, the hosts make roasted eel and an eel and onion tart.

Martin and Hugue fly away to Quebec’s Far North, leaving their trusty stove and pick-up behind. Once there, the two adventurers jump onto their skidoos and zoom off to explore the surreal Arctic landscape. They try everything from seal hunting to ice fishing, with a stop for cold water diving in between. Outside in the snow, Martin and Hugue cook mussels render seal fat, fry up some fish and finish up with an Arctic hare.

Martin and Hugue hit the road again. This time they’re going shark fishing in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Their goal? To hook and then cook a shark aboard their fishing boat, miles out at sea.

Martin and Hugue are off to Quebec’s Magdalen Islands, off the coast of PEI. A 17-hour journey to make one of Martin’s cooking fantasies come true: to go deep sea diving to collect all the shellfish he can from the bottom of the ocean and make the seafood platter of his dreams.

Who knew? Only 20 minutes outside Montreal you can fish (and eat!) sturgeon. Martin and Hugue join a local fisherman to catch these prehistoric fish, hoping against hope to catch one with eggs so they can make caviar, one of Martin’s all-time favourite things to eat.

Martin and Hugue discover the life of the « coureurs-des-bois », fur traders in the early days of Quebec. As part of their adventure, they sleep in a tent and cook outside in a snowstorm. They also eat something they’ve never had before : muskrat ! The trip ends with a beautiful hare civet cooked on an open fire.

Martin adores foie gras, so much so that he invents a new kind: maple syrup foie gras. Join Hugue and Martin as they find out how foie gras is made, all the way from the farm to the table. Along the way, they show us how to cook foie gras, how it can even become a “fast food”, and finish with an exotic foie gras cake. And is the foie gras experiment a success? Martin sends it to some chefs that he knows to find out: will they like his re-invented foie gras?

Martin recreates an old Quebec tradition, La Grande Boucherie, where farmers would prepare food for winter. And with Martin’s favourite animal : the pig. Watch as Martin, Hugue and their friends cook an entire pig in one day and finish with a big feast.

Everyone has a favourite size lobster they like to eat and Martin’s no different. He loves the monster lobsters, 6 lbs and up. He and Hugue set out to Nova Scotia to convince everyone that bigger really is better. He also tries his own version of the traditional Acadian dish, Rappie Pie, and makes his classic dish, stuffed pig’s stomach with lobster.

Martin and Hugue go salmon fishing on Quebec’s North Shore. The weather doesn’t co-operate but the two cooks keep their chins up.  At water’s edge, they taste parts of the salmon we don’t usually eat and make a new version of the traditional Quebec dish, Salmon Pie.

Martin and Hugue go moose hunting deep in the woods of Quebec. And after the hunt it’s time to cook! Martin and Hugue serve up parts of the moose that are usually thrown out: the heart, the testicles, even the shanks. Everyone is pleasantly surprised by the results.

Martin and Hugue are off to Isle-aux-Grues, a paradise for goose hunting in Quebec. Before they even get there, their truck breaks down and all they have left is their oven. Once there, they collect berries, gather bulrushes and make a drink using sumac flowers. Then, it’s time to hunt and cook. Ever inventive, the two friends build a smokehouse out of plastic wrap and smoke goose, beans and even themselves! They re-invent cipaille, a traditional Quebec meat pie made with wild goose,  and make a beautiful clay-crusted goose.