“We need to support this food source. The future of meat is this.”

Those are the words of chef and industry-leading sustainability advocate Matt Stone – and no, he’s not talking about the latest innovation in lab-grown steak or mushroom mince. He’s praising the wild-hunted sambar venison from Discover Wildfoods, who have taken out the special Sustainability Award at the 2024 delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards.

Tara Medina, cofounder of Discovered Wildfoods, describes the win as “exactly the type of fuel that keeps us going” – but graciously adds that the category they didn’t win meant just as much.

“While we were the national winner for Sustainability, to even be a National Finalist in From the Paddock meant so much to us as it meant on a taste and quality basis we were absolutely on par with Victoria’s best traditional meat producers,” says Medina. “We believe that wild venison stands shoulder to shoulder with the best farmed red meat we’ve ever eaten so for that to be recognised by some of the best chefs in the nation means a lot!”

One of the factors that makes Discovered a standout is their focus on sambar deer, an Asian subspecies that was introduced to Australia in the 1860s. Their larger size and the mild, nutty flavour of their meat means they’re a prime candidate for the growing consumer and industry interest in wild game – and as Medina explains, Discovered are the only providore in the country zeroed in on the “unique opportunity” sambar venison offers at this inflection point in the category’s growth.

Medina’s cofounder Billy Staughton hails from Victoria’s high country, where hunting was part of life and where the deer became noticeably more present throughout his young life. “By the time we were in our early 20s they had become prolific, and he would often bring fresh venison to Melbourne for dinner parties,” Medina recalls. “That was how I tried it for the first time and absolutely loved cooking with it. We always used to joke that it would be a fantastic and completely unique business. We’d never encountered a concept that seemed to solve so many fundamental societal issues  – from sustainability to nutrition to regional economic development.”

A pandemic road-bump or two aside, Discovered Wildfoods has gone from strength to strength, selling directly to consumers and also supplying venison, wild boar and more to forward-thinking eateries.

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“The average diner has a lot of misconceptions about how game should taste, and historically that has inhibited these insanely nutritious and sustainable meats – of which Australia has a unique abundance – from scaling up and commercially taking market share from farmed protein,” Medina says. “With some of the animals we harvest reaching upward of 200kg, the high meat-to-bone ratio means a flavour profile more comparable to beef or veal while still maintaining a unique nutty taste.”

The size of the sambar means many cuts offer unique utility to chefs – as their online store notes, a single backstrap or eye fillet can be roasted or seared whole, or sliced crossways into beautiful lean steaks, while the hefty shanks offer, in their words, “vast amounts of caramel marrow”. 

To win over any venison skeptics at your table, Medina says that a simple approach is what lets the product really shine: “Salt, pepper, olive oil on the grill – as rare as you can handle it – with either chimichurri or horseradish.”

Related news: The 2024 delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Award winners have been revealed!