The Hulu/Disney television series “Chefs vs Wild” has a Lloydminster connection.
Matt Corbel who has moved from Calgary to the Border City enjoys the outdoors and is making his television debut in episode eight Monday evening on Hulu in the States.
A furniture maker by profession, Corbel is making cabinets in Lloydminster. He was born in Alberta, but moved to Haida Gwaii, B.C as a toddler.
Corbel says they could have sent him anywhere in the world for the filming as the producers also did the television show “Alone.” However, they ended up filming his episode in B.C.
“There’s two teams competing against each other and each team consists of a survivalist and a chef. And so they dropped me off in the middle of nowhere on this island. And I get just enough time to scout it quickly and figure out where we need to live for a week. And then the helicopter shows up and they drop the chef off, who has little-to-no-experience in the wild.”
Corbel’s objective is to keep the chef alive, stay hydrated and have enough food and comfort for the chef to be well-rested. Over the week, they have to forage for ingredients to make a three-course gourmet meal at the end to win.
His upbringing in B.C. makes Corbel accustomed to travelling light, hunting and cooking on a fire. However, his outdoor talent was challenged by having to find vegetation suited to make a gourmet dish.
“Sometimes we have to rely on catching a fish or shooting a grouse and cooking it up out there. So I knew how to cook over a fire, but I had to extend my skill set into looking at stuff that’s growing out of the ground; so microgreens and identifying mushrooms. And then on the west coast, like seaweed; I had to figure out what was the most nutritious and tasty. Yes it was fun.”
With his television debut under his belt, Corbel says he will be looking for more screen roles in the future.
“Chefs vs Wild” is hosted by chef and adventurer Kiran Jethwa who also serves as a judge, along with wild-foods expert Valerie Segrest.