Held as part of JAGD & HUND, Europe's largest hunting trade show, the WILD FOOD FESTIVAL has been enjoying growing popularity since 2019. From 28 January to 2 February 2025, the popular culinary festival will once again be attracting gourmets and ambitious amateur chefs to Messe Dortmund for tastings, cookery demonstration sessions and exclusive workshops with prominent TV celebrity cooks and Michelin-starred chefs.

Dortmund, 11 November 2024 – Whether it's fine roast venison, melt-in-the-mouth wild boar goulash or tasty wildfowl such as pigeon, partridge, pheasant or quail – regional game is increasingly being served in the home. The upcoming WILD FOOD FESTIVAL will once again offer great value to long-time game connoisseurs and to those who have recently discovered its undoubted merits. Not only can they sample tasty game highlights from field and meadow to their hearts' content, they can also get their hands on the right equipment for preparing these dishes at home. The festival will also offer great recipes plus suitable aperitifs and wines and will be somewhere for all fans of good game cuisine to meet, enjoy, engage, learn and be inspired.

Master cooks conjuring up superb game specialities

The diverse stage programme at the WILD FOOD FESTIVAL will kick off each day with the popular hunting couple Magdalene and Wolfgang Grabitz, who have been promoting regional game cuisine at JAGD & HUND for 21 years and will be preparing dishes such as a succulent and tender game delicacy from Sika deer, widely hailed as the local Sauerland's equivalent of the Wagyu. Michael Keller, master butcher, hunter, meat and game sommelier, will then demonstrate the perfect cuts for finely carving game. In a line-up which will change daily, well-known top celebrity cooks, TV chefs and well-known chefs in the hunting world will set to work and let you look over their shoulders as they prepare unusual game dishes. These will include Austrian TV chef Johann Lafer, cookery visionary Heiko Antoniewic, known for his innovative interpretations of recipes, and Florian Conzen, passionate hunter and head chef of the Brasserie Stadthaus in Düsseldorf. Michelin-starred chefs Christopher Wilbrand and Daniel Dal-Ben will also inspire onlookers with their “wild” culinary skills. Certified game sommelier Ruth Staudenmayer, Yvonne Scharl-Blöcker, co-initiator of the Hunting Ladies' Forum, game cook Ina‑Maria Klups and numerous other game cuisine specialists will also be inviting you along on exciting culinary journeys.

Pro workshops to inspire onlookers

Ina-Marie Klups, for example, will be whetting people's appetites for “wild street food dishes” as a healthy snack or for their next parties. In his workshop entitled “Experiencing game – there are more steaks than you think!”, Michael Keller will be showing how to cook steaks from mouflon or wild boar leg. In a further session, he'll be conjuring up delicious “Game Delights from the BBQ”, with tips on selecting and cutting meat, and on seasoning the barbecued results. Jan Urban is set to inspire participants with up-to-the-minute, quick‑to-prepare game dishes and captivating talks. TV chef and game sommelier Markus Hofmann will reveal how to create and season the perfect game sausage. The workshops are available exclusively in the ticketshop of JAGD & HUND and are limited to a maximum of 20 participants.

Great brands for perfect barbecues

As well as the culinary on-stage programme and the professional workshops, the WILD FOOD FESTIVAL will also have an attractive range of high-tech barbecues, pans, chef's knives and top accessories plus delicious game delicacies, popular spirits and a lots more besides. Ambitious BBQ fans will be able to discover the latest barbecues and the extensive range of additional equipment from Zwilling and house brands Santos and Flammkraft, for example. Interesting insights can be gained at the stand of artisans Schneidholz Manufaktur which will be showing high-quality one-off chopping board and knife products. Lovers of fine liqueurs can discover “The Kaiser's Herbal Liqueur” from the Grafschaft Manufaktur craft distillery in central Germany, a beverage that's just been awarded 91 Falstaff points. If you want to prepare tasty game such as venison, red deer, mouflon and wild boar yourself, you'll find a high-quality game meat supplier with a large selection in the shape of Wildhandel König. As always, master butcher and chef Conrad Baierl – fondly known in the community as “The Wild Butcher” – will be in attendance, holding forth on venison as a natural, high-quality food that can be prepared in lots of delicious ways. Bossmann Catering will also be there with game specialities from their own hunting trips for private parties and business events.

WILD FOOD FESTIVAL workshops: also a perfect Christmas gift!


Admission to the WILD FOOD FESTIVAL is already included in the JAGD & HUND ticket. The workshops featuring well-known TV and Michelin-starred chefs are among the special highlights at the WILD FOOD FESTIVAL and can be booked separately. The first workshops are already online, with others to be added soon.
>>> Book exclusive workshop tickets