In this popular New Zealand cooking series, successful restauranteur Angelo Georgalli hunts down and prepares his next meal.
The last of 10 episodes of Georgalli’s show, The Game Chef, screened on TV One on Saturday 12 September and filming for a second series is scheduled for December. The series has been popular in the 4.30pm Saturday afternoon slot – his lamb episode that screened in August attracted a live audience rating of 120,000.
About the hunting and cooking TV series
Set amongst the epic natural beauty of New Zealand, The Game Chef features easy-to-prepare recipes for fish, pork, venison, lamb and rabbit, as well as salads, sauces, dressing, soups, stews and accompaniments. They celebrate balance with nature, living off the land as much as possible, and respecting the wildlife, the vegetation, and the waterways that sustain us.
Whilst this is a not a hunting show per se The Game Chef provides an insight into the ancient hunting technique of archery as Angelo catches his game using a bow and arrow.
He then works his magic as a chef, and demonstrates how to cook his catch using recipes that are simple and creative, taking a back to basics approach with organic produce and seasonal cooking at its best.
The Game Chef is an important addition to televisions cooking and food genre. It is informative and entertaining, while gently probing us to think about our place in the natural world. And all shot in some of the most breath-taking scenery on the planet in the beautiful Lake Wanaka region in the South Island.
About Angelo Georgalli
Angelo Georgalli is an engaging character with broad appeal. After travelling the world, Angelo arrived in New Zealand in 1996, buying his first cafe in Auckland on Dominion Road and since then he has run seven successful delicatessen cafes in New Zealand.
After a diner from Seattle shared his passion for bow hunting, Georgalli sold his guns and devoted himself to archery and target shooting, quickly rising through competitive ranks to become an instructor and open an archery school.
He continued to work in restaurants when he moved to the beautiful Wanaka region with his wife and three children in 2014, but is now focused on his television programme, archery school, guiding and cooking for groups.
Born to an Italian mother and a Cypriot father, food has been a significant part of Angelo’s life since he was a boy. His father, a chef, bred rabbits in outdoor rabbit cages and in his vegetable garden and taught him to hunt and fish.
“He dropped the seed in my head that you can grow your own food,” Georgalli said.
His background of Greek, Italian and English invites confidence in his ability to mix different culinary styles, while his enthusiasm for fresh New Zealand produce and game is infectious.
He loves cooking and fishing – getting into the great outdoors is his biggest enjoyment where he can follow his passion for living a healthy, honest life off the land. He is an accredited archery coach and NZ accredited hunting guide.
From watching his mother cooking and baking from scratch in their kitchen to fishing English rivers with his father and competing internationally in archery, these life experiences have led him to become The Game Chef.
In conjunction with the TV series, Angelo has co-authored an accompanying book The Game Chef: Wild Recipes from the Great Outdoors with Wanaka author, Carla Munro. Featured sections discuss Rainbow and Brown Trout, Wild Sheep, Salmon, Fallow Deer, Watercress, Manuka and Kanuka and highlight stunning South Island locations including Cardrona Valley, Mount Aspiring National Park, Lake Hawea and Matukituki Valley. His book is available at major booksellers throughout New Zealand or sold online at http://www.angeloswildkitchen.co.nz
Black Label Experience can offer our clients bespoke packages that emulate The Game Chef experience incorporating fly fishing tours with Angelo in and around Wanaka for novices or seasoned anglers (lake fishing, or river fishing for trout or salmon), archery, and wild food culinary experiences. If you would like to share Angelo’s passion for the great outdoors, contact us today to book this special experience in Wanaka.
Simply get in touch with us below, and we can take you through some other options. Once we talk with you we’ll get a better understanding of what you’re looking forward to experiencing and we can create a custom package specifically fitted to you.
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