Wild Food

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Recently I suggested to a Restaurant owner that he should enlist the help of a Forager.  He, slightly embarrassed, had to admit that he didn’t know what a Forager was.  Well he does now!  A Forager, from ‘to forage for’ is simply the title given to a person who gathers wild food from forests, shores and fields.  Of course anyone can forage.  But it’s important to know what you are picking.  Some of the free stuff can be dangerous or nasty, especially some of those mushrooms!  I think it's a great idea for a restaurant in Ireland to develop relationships with a few foragers, imagine how fabulous it is to receive a basket of Wild Irish Girolles or a Giant Puff Ball....

I picked up a little book from The National Trust a couple of years back.  It’s written by Jane Eastoe and is ‘A Guide to Gathering Food in the Wild’.  It’s a very pretty little book, with a purple cover and delicate drawings and paintings.  But what I love about Jane’s writing is that it’s very down to earth and takes the mystery and the fear out of foraging.

We’ve all been foraging, before we knew to give it its’ fancy title.  As a kid I loved picking blackberries or searching for wild sorrel with my Dad.  I’d often find wild mint, nettles and garlic; they were all used in our house.  Jams and Jellies were made with rose hips and damsons and elderflowers.  There really is nothing like truly free food. 

But we have lost so much of the knowledge that our grandparents had.  Our modern busy lives have removed us from the ‘where food comes from’ concept and we pile our shopping trolleys high with food that have nothing to do with seasons and often nothing to do with our country at all.   To use the cliché,  actually ‘getting back to nature’ can be a source of great pleasure and privilege and be immensely curative in itself, not to mention the good food you can find.  I urge you all to give it a try. 

One of the most recognisable wild foods you can begin with is the Nettle.  Everyone remembers a particularly nasty sting at some point in their childhood.  I certainly do, it was a couple of days after my first Holy Communion and one arm was destroyed.  Who says we don’t remember pain.  So wear at least two pairs of rubber gloves when picking your Nettles, and then we’ll make Nettle Soup.  Go to the recipes section to find the recipe. 

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