About
Drawing on a 30-year wealth of experiential knowledge, wild food expert Fergus Drennan will take you on a 5-hr foraging journey that reveals the secret potential in even the most familiar of wild plants, the very plants you walk by every day. The humble bramble or blackberry will be revealed to be, on the contrary, a majestic beast of endless possibilities, native trees will be enticed to deliver up the sweetly nuanced complexity of molasses without a sugar cane plant in sight, and in one unexpected bite of crunchy and savoury abundance, you will experience the genuinely unique opportunity to eat 150 different wild greens all at once.
On this wild food walk in Forest Row in East Sussex, participants will be provided with clear information on the foraging basics, while simultaneously looking deeply into the skills required to get the maximum benefit from wild plants. This includes precise tips and guidance for working with the 20-30 specific plants and fungi (when present) encountered on location, as well as detailed instruction regarding processes and techniques, for example, salt pickling, vinegar pickling, lacto-fermenting, cordial making, wine and spirit making, dehydrating, fruit leather creation, seasonings, and other preserving and food preparation techniques. In many instances those techniques will be brought to life by tasting the fruits of such labour.
On this fun, informative, and engaging course, expect to taste 5-15 different wild food creations, including, perhaps, my soon to be world famous 150-different-plants-all-at-once biscuits! Most tasters suitable for vegan, gluten free, and nut-free diets.
Please note that, generally speaking, we will be gathering or picking plants or fungi primarily for identification purposes, rather than large baskets of wildings for eating. Many of the plants we encounter can simply be touched, smelt, and important visual characteristics observed where they are, in situ.
Key points
Ages
14 to 80 and with good average heath and mobility
Meeting point
Forest Row (tbc)
Recommended Apparel
Dress warmly. Bring a full set of water proofs. Wear good walking boots, may be muddy
- Sat 30 Mar (Tablehurst Farm Shop and Cafe, London Road, Forest Row, East Sussex, England, RH18 5DP)
- Sat 13 Apr (Tablehurst Farm Shop and Cafe, London Road, Forest Row, East Sussex, England, RH18 5DP)
- Sat 18 May (Tablehurst Farm Shop and Cafe, London Road, Forest Row, East Sussex, England, RH18 5DP)
- Sat 29 Jun (Tablehurst Farm Shop and Cafe, London Road, Forest Row, East Sussex, England, RH18 5DP)
- Sat 31 Aug (Tablehurst Farm Shop and Cafe, London Road, Forest Row, East Sussex, England, RH18 5DP)
- Sat 26 Oct (Tablehurst Farm Shop and Cafe, London Road, Forest Row, East Sussex, England, RH18 5DP)
- Sat 30 Nov (Tablehurst Farm Shop and Cafe, London Road, Forest Row, East Sussex, England, RH18 5DP)