Passport to Texas

Simon Majumdar, Pilgrim Party, Image courtesy The Cooking Channel.

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This is Passport to Texas

British food writer and judge of Food Network TV cooking competitions, Simon Mujumdar, hunts and eats game.

I love hunting. And hunting really speaks to the American identity, because without the first Pilgrims coming here and being taught how to hunt by the Native Americans, the Wampanoags, America wouldn’t exist.

Based on personal invitations, Mujumdar traveled the US exploring regional food traditions for his book Fed, White and Blue: Finding America with My Fork.

I did actually do a little bit of hunting in Mississippi; I went out into the delta, and it was dove hunting season. We did some wild hog hunting. We didn’t catch much. I say, no animals were harmed during the making of my book.

For Mujumdar, hunting is about putting meat on the table.

I would never go hunting just for sport. But if it’s to put food on the table… And actually, during the economic downturn, I have friends all over the country who used hunting to fill their family’s stomachs. And again, so that proves it is part of the American identity.

I asked Food Network TV’s Simon Mujumdar if he would ever hunt in Texas.

Well, I go wherever I’m invited. So, if people invite me, then I’ll go. I’m not claiming to be any good. But I’m safe. And I love doing it. I love the companionship of hunting.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.