"This is so tasty that I could eat it every day," Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yuji Yamamoto said as he sampled a minced deer meat cutlet in a staff cafeteria of the ministry building in Tokyo in late April.

 The cafeteria served combination meals based on minced deer meat for five days, attracting not only ministry workers but also other consumers. While the cafeteria prepared 40 meals per day, it needed to procure additional meat as orders exceeded expectations. During the five-day period, 222 meals were prepared and sold out.

 Minced deer meat cutlets were cooked as advised by Norihiko Fujiki, a French cuisine chef in Chino, Nagano Prefecture, who recommended the addition of pork backfat to make deer meat "juicy," he said.

 In May, another cafeteria in the ministry prepared 100 curry meals with deer meat croquettes that sold out.

 Encouraged by the successful trials, the government is stepping up preparations for the use of wild game meat, or "gibier" in French, in meals served in staff cafeterias of other ministries and agencies. (Jiji Press)