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Date: 3/28/2019
CHICOPEE – On March 23, the banquet hall at the Munich Haus was packed with diners. The numbered tables were full of patrons, eating heartily, while the line for the buffet snaked around the room.
The food, though, was not your typical chicken or fish choice. Instead, there was roasted wild boar, giant squid, wild turkey schnitzel, and kangaroo kabobs. There was game stew, game sausages, fried alligator, and rabbit. True to its name, this was a game feast.
The Munich Haus, a fixture in Chicopee since it opened in 2004, occasionally offers its patrons the chance to sample foods many have never had the chance to try. Kim Bosshart-Cote, a manager at the Munich Haus, said there are game feasts in each of the first four months of the year and November.
“The January one is a big sellout,” she said because many people give tickets as holiday gifts. “It’s always a good turnout.” The banquet room above the restaurant seats 200 people and Bosshart-Cote said the game feasts almost always sell out.
Executive Chef Anna Caesckowska and another chef manned the carving station, slicing venison, bison, elk, and mountain goat. Caesckowska said they pre-order the meats from Arnold’s Meats in Chicopee. The squid is special-ordered and comes from Boston. While the Munich Haus has alligator, kangaroo, and venison on their fall seasonal menu, the other selections are exclusive to the game feast.
Caesckowska credits Hubert Gottschlicht, the Munich Haus founder, with the idea for the game feast and said it’s been a tradition for about 15 years. Even though he has given the reins over to his son, Patrick Gottschlicht, Bosshart-Cote said Hubert was there before the feast started, personally checking that everything was in order.
“Definitely the elk at the carving station,” commented Josh Sokol of Enfield, CT., on his favorite food at the game feast. This was his second time at the event. “Squid’s great,” he added. Bosshart-Cote said that the alligator was her favorite.
Mark Machak took his friend, Dave Adams. Neither of the South Hadley men had been to a game feast at the Munich Haus, but Machak had attended similar events elsewhere. “It’s usually at a sportsman’s club, someplace like that,” said Machak. He and Adams both noted they appreciated the atmosphere at the restaurant.
“It’s an experience, test out different animals,” said Adams, who stated he most enjoyed the turkey schnitzel. Machak said he preferred the alligator.
“Delicious,” Carol Pescik of Granby, CT., summed up her experience. She had never been to a game feast before. “Good crowd, tons of fun,” she said.
The next game feast will be on April 27 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $55 and available at munichhaus.com.