Kayne Raymond goes fishing with his bare hands © Gilles Mingasson for BBC AMERICA
Chef Kayne Raymond grew up in New Zealand, but even his home country’s famously rugged terrain didn’t entirely prepare him for the challenges of rappelling down cliffs and hunting wild boar. Raymond, a private chef who has worked with some Australia and England’s best kitchens and appeared on the cooking competition show "Chopped," tells us about cooking giant rodents, diving with humpback whales, and what he’ll bring back to his own kitchen from his travels around the globe.
And if you like what you read below, tune in to BBC America’s "No Kitchen Required,” a new food travel adventure series that takes chefs and viewers to some of the most remote, exotic locations across the globe. Premieres Tuesday, April 3rd at 10pm Eastern / 9pm central only on BBC America. For more updates on the series, be sure to like No Kitchen Required on Facebook. (Continue reading to watch an exclusive trailer.)
What attracted you to "No Kitchen Required?" Why did you sign on for this adventure? As soon as I heard about the show, hands down, straight away, I was really excited, because everything the show embodies appeals to my sensibilities. I come from an indigenous culture—I’m part Polynesian descent, French Polynesian and Scottish, so the indigenous culture aspect really intrigued me. Also, I’m a chef, a rock climber, I’ve done rappelling. I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie—jumping out of helicopters appeals to me. Most people from New Zealand are like that. I couldn’t have designed a better show to be on.
Did you feel prepared? What were you expecting before you left? I don’t know if I was fully prepared, but I felt really excited about it. I’d been going through loads of things in my life personally in the last 5 years, and I was really ready for it. I was ready to go out and by myself and cook really well, get involved with the other guys.
They told us where we were going, but not so much about the food or the people or what we’d actually be doing. We didn’t know what we were doing, but that’s the fun of it, right? It was always exhilarating.
What new ingredients or foods did you encounter that you’ve never worked with before? Gibnut was new to me. It’s a rodent, a huge rodent that lives in the jungle and has no tail and two huge front teeth that protrude out
it was insane. And these incredible bits of produce that we found in the jungle—wild bananas, they had huge black rock-hard seeds in the middle and the flesh was white and creamy, like nothing you’ve ever had before. It was like most amazing banana you’ve ever eaten, times a thousand. I had raw cacao, inside a crazy hard shell, and when you popped it out, the bean was inside this fruit, it was amazing.
What was your favorite thing you cooked? It would have to be the gibnut—I was so surprised about the flavor—you think rodent, what’s it gonna be
but the belly, the inside, had so much fat, it was almost like pork. The flavor was incredible—I rendered the fat, made masa and tamales, and the flavor was delicious. I was incredibly surprised by the fat content and how it related the food I made. The hunt was really awesome, but it was more that I was really surprised as a chef. I was taken aback: I wasn’t used to cooking anything like that before.
Without giving too much away, what was the craziest thing that happened? There are so many! When I was in Hawaii, I was spearfishing with the national woman’s spearfishing champion. We were out in the morning, about to head off and go fishing, and there was this humpback whale following us alongside the boat. It was beautiful. It took off in front of us, and then, a minute later, the whale literally turns around and heads straight toward the boat. The captain dived off the boat into the water, and I was like, screw this, I will too! This whale was literally 5 feet in front of my face, it was breaching, it was diving.
I came up and turned around to the boat, I was like oh my god! Are you seeing this? Everyone was kind of frozen on the boat, I got back on the boat, where they had a camera, and I looked at the footage: I’m looking at the boat, and right behind me, all you can see is this immense whale tail behind my head, sinking down into the water. It was so surreal and beautiful, the most beautiful thing that’s ever happened to me apart from my daughter being born. I was scared shitless, so much adrenaline going on, I didn’t even think twice about this monster in the water.
Have you ever hunted or foraged your own food before? I foraged a little—we pick wild watercress in New Zealand, and potatoes, and most people have gardens. But not way out in the jungle, doing crazy stuff like we did. I haven’t hunted anything with a bow or a gun, but I’m a huge fisherman, I’ve spent a lot of time on boats. I’m more of a hunter/fisherman than a Wildman.
What's the one kitchen tool (apart from knife?) you'd take on a desert island? Can I take beer? Does beer count? I’m sure I could make a fire, so I’d barbecue, but you need a drink, right? So I’d take a 6 pack.
What was hardest challenge? Apart from the mental challenge of going away and doing it. For me, it was being able to create a good team atmosphere, a good relationship with the other chefs. That was so important, because even though it’s a competition, what we’re actually doing out there is relating to indigenous cultures, and finding a way to connect with them through the food. One of the hardest and most important things was to get that connection with the two chefs as well, so we could be out there honestly doing what the show wants—we’re not acting, we’re not scripted, we’re just talking naturally, and reporting on what we’re doing with these people and with each other.
What will you be bringing back to your own kitchen from this experience? I was inspired. I was totally inspired when I came back from all the amazing places, these amazing people. I’m still in contact with them—I made so many friends, lifelong friends. These people have cultures that are just disappearing. It’s really sad that these cultures are withering away, younger generations don’t care, or they’re not being taught I was inspired by all of them.
And in a different sense, there were a few places I absolutely loved that I want to cook and remake. Even stuff that we’d cook with-- vessels, implements, outdoor ovens we used in Thailand. I want to get some of them to cook on the beach myself. I think the relationship thing, making friends, being part of these cultures; I’ll go to the grave with that. I’ll never ever forget that. I made these connections with these cultures that people will probably never see.
It was a once in a lifetime opportunity! Maybe there will be as second season- maybe it’ll be a twice in a lifetime experience, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
Like what you've read here? Tune in to BBC America’s "No Kitchen Required,” a new food travel adventure series that takes chefs and viewers to some of the most remote, exotic locations across the globe. Premieres Tuesday, April 3rd at 10pm Eastern / 9pm central only on BBC America. For more updates on the series, be sure to like No Kitchen Required on Facebook.
