Chad Belding - The Provider Cookbook: Fish and Game Recipes for Eating Wild and Living Off the Land

PRAISE FOR THE PROVIDER COOKBOOK

An amazing book showcasing the best lifestyle! No one knows a connection to food better than a hunter. This book really showcases the bond between the tradition of hunting and the act of sharing an amazing meal with friends and family. It bridges the gap between food and the hunters unique connection to the outdoors.

REMI WARREN,hunter, outdoor writer, and media personality

Ready to eat like royalty? Youll find so many new favorites in The Provider Cookbook, youll wonder how you were preparing wild game and domestic meats without it. This is the rare book that truly feeds body, mind, and soul.

GEORGE BRETT, MLB Hall of Fame baseball player for the Kansas City Royals

Nothing is more rewarding than the feeling of preparing a meal literally from start to finish, with no middle men. We as providers have full ability to ethically hunt, farm, and cook our own food, and it seems too many people are forgetting thiskudos to Belding and Mendes for keeping tradition alive.

RILEY GREEN, country music superstar

Ive always loved the outdoors and sharing meals with family. This is so much more than just a cookbook!

MAX THIERIOT, actor

Cooking is an art form, and Chad Belding and Chad Mendes understand that to their bones. Their passion shines through on every page of The Provider Cookbook.

CHAD WARD, founder of Whiskey Bent BBQ Supply

Feels almost weird to call this a cookbook because its so much more Its a tribute to a simpler time, to the call of the wild, and to amazing dishes that nourish not only our bodies, but the long-starved human spirit.

CLAY GUIDA, fighter in the UFC Hall of Fame

Filled with stunning photos and mouth-watering recipes, The Provider Cookbook is truly something to savor. The stories within will inspire everyone who appreciates traditional methods of acquiring and preparing food.

CODY NO LOVE GARBRANDT,former MMA Bantamweight Champion

The Provider Cookbook copyright 2021 by Chad Cubed, LLC

Cover and interior photography by Tom Rassuchine, except for , courtesy of Chad Mendes. The following logos are pictured with permission: Banded; Finz & Feathers; Hunter Glenn Estate; Jack Daniels; Kuiu; Lethal Products; MTN OPS; Napa Valley Olive Oil Mfg.; The Oyster Bed, LLC; The Provider, Realtree (courtesy of Jordan Outdoor Enterprises, Ltd.); Traeger Grills, LLC; and Vortex Optics.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

BenBella Books, Inc.

10440 N. Central Expressway, Suite 800

Dallas, TX 75231

benbellabooks.com

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BenBella is a federally registered trademark.

First E-Book Edition: November 2021

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021020399

ISBN 978-1-637740-16-3

eISBN 978-1-637740-22-4

Editing by Claire Schulz

Copyediting by Karen Wise

Proofreading by Lisa Story and Amy Zarkos

Indexing by WordCo Indexing Services, Inc.

Text design by Aaron Edmiston

Cover design by Brigid Pearson

Special discounts for bulk sales are available.

Please contact .

To all of our friends, family, fellow hunters, and
Providers, this cookbook is dedicated to all of you!
Thank you for all the inspiration and passion.

CONTENTS

Welcome, Provider! Pour yourself a cocktail and pull up a chair. With this cookbook, were inviting you to our table to share in the amazing food and stories that weve accumulated from our travels hunting, fishing, and living off the land throughout the country.

We are Chad Belding and Chad Mendes, both lifelong sportsmen and outdoor enthusiasts.

Chad Beldings love of this lifestyle was instilled from a very young age by his father, Orville Belding. Orville ensured that Chad and his brothers, Clay and Clint, developed appreciation of the outdoors, teaching them to camp, hunt, fish, trap crawdad, and even cut down their own Christmas trees. Their mother, Faith Belding, was with the family every step of the way. Chads passion eventually led him to predator and waterfowl hunting, and soon thereafter he became involved in competitive duck and goose calling while attending college at the University of NevadaReno in the late 1990s. In school he was a member of the competitive Division I baseball team and studied business, public speaking, and history. Following his graduation he put his business knowledge to good use, co-owning and operating several businesses across Nevada, Colorado, and Washington.

The call of the wilderness never left him, however, and in 2008 he founded Banded, a video production and merchandising company that specializes in hunting gear and accessories as well as duck and goose calls. The following year his TV show, The Fowl Life, aired, and the series has gotten more popular each year.

Chad Mendes was born and raised in Hanford, California. He still remembers following his dad through the Sierra Nevadas at six years old, staying at the familys go-to spots for fishing, and chasing blacktail and mule deer every season. At 13, he was lucky enough to kill his first buck in that mountain range, shooting an old PSE Nova bow that he had saved up for by mowing lawns. Hunting always had a special place in his heart, but it wasnt always his professional career. He had also grown up a talented wrestler. His success on the mat earned him a scholarship to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, where his small-town palate opened up to a whole new world of cuisines. At Cal Poly he became a two-time Division I All-American wrestler. As a senior, he finished the year with a 301 record, placed second in the 2008 NCAA championships, and was named Pac-10 Wrestler of the Year. After graduating with a degree in kinesiology, he was invited to join Team Alpha Male, one of the best mixed martial arts (MMA) teams in the world. He quickly became a force on the regional mixed martial arts circuit and was signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2009. He competed for the UFC title three times against opponents like Conor McGregor and Jos Aldo.

Like Belding, Chad Mendes had a love of the outdoors that never left him. After retiring from the UFC, his experience and knowledge as a lifelong outdoorsman led him to create Finz and Featherz, a celebrity hunting and fishing service, which has grown into a successful business; and he became a brand ambassador for some prominent outdoor brands, including Traeger grills which is how we first met.