In this episode of A Table in the Corner, I sit down with charcutier Richard Bosman to talk about Hunt & Gather, the new biltong project he has developed with Jerome Gluckman.
Richard has spent years working with cured meats, preservation and the science behind flavour. With Hunt & Gather, he turns that knowledge towards one of South Africa’s most iconic foods, asking what biltong might look like if it were made with fewer shortcuts and a much cleaner ingredient list.
We talk about grass-fed beef from the Eastern Cape, probiotic cultures, polyphenols extracted from fruit and why so much packaged biltong contains ingredients most people would not expect to find there. Richard explains how the product is designed to retain the flavour and texture of traditional biltong while avoiding chemical preservatives, gluten and the batch-pack approach common in commercial production.
The conversation also reaches back to Ötzi the Iceman, early forms of preserved meat and the long human history of drying, curing and carrying protein. From there, we get into mould, shelf life, Worcester sauce made from scratch and the practical challenge of taking a cleaner, more considered biltong to market.
It’s a conversation about craft, chemistry, curiosity and a South African staple being rethought by someone who understands preservation from the inside.
- www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay