The Hamburger Wildhandelskontor was founded by managing director Stefan Runge (photo) in Hamburg. Since 2013, it has been supplying top restaurateurs in the Hamburg area exclusively with fresh, seasonal game directly from the hunter. http://ha-wi-ko.de/

If you drive through the countryside at dusk with your eyes open and are not in too much of a hurry, you can spot them in harvested fields and meadows or at the edge of the forest: roe deer. Depending on the time of year, they can be found alone or in smaller or larger groups. At the end of the 19th century, roe deer were considered almost extinct, but today they can be found in large numbers in Germany from the coast to the high mountains. In September, FIRE&FOOD had the opportunity to go on a stand hunt with game meat dealer Stefan Runge in the Duchy of Lauenburg.

The Duchy of Lauenburg belongs to Schleswig-Holstein and stretches between the Elbe in the south, Hamburg in the west, Lübeck in the north and the Schaalsee in the east. The Old Salt Road runs through the middle of it, an important trade route in the Middle Ages, which today is a well-developed long-distance cycle route. The Lauenburg forests are predominantly deciduous and mixed forests and, together with the Sachsenwald on the outskirts of Hamburg, form the largest contiguous forest area in northern Germany. Stefan Runge's hunting grounds are also located here, covering around 500 hectares. The internationally experienced master chef has had a hunting license since 1990 and, as a head chef, has often taken the game he has hunted himself into the restaurant kitchen. Runge's grandfather awakened in him a passion for finding food in the great outdoors when he was a child - whether hunting or picking mushrooms. Since 2013, Runge has made game his profession: he supplies the top restaurants in Hamburg and on Sylt with the finest cuts of game meat that come from the region's forests. He doesn't kill everything; he doesn't have enough time or the capacity of his hunting grounds. But he is in constant contact with his hunting partners and neighbors and is the first to make his selection from the animals he kills at the game collection point. "For me, stress-free game from the region is one of the most natural and high-quality foods you can get. It doesn't get more organic than that!", explains Runge when asked what makes hunting so fascinating for him. That's why he prefers to hunt from a hide wherever possible and is not to be found on trophy hunts. As a hunter, it is important to him to ensure a balance in nature, in coordination with local farmers and forestry companies. This also includes avoiding lead-containing ammunition.