Edible Leeds - Wild Food Foraging Courses and 4 Wild Seasons Pop Up Dining Events

As some of you will know, spring heralds the return of the wild alliums; Wild Garlic, 3 Cornered Leek, Few Flowered Leek, Chives, Rosy Garlic, Crow Garlic and others. Wild Alliums, in particular, the first 3 species from the above list, receive much attention from me as they are super prolific in areas that I frequently forage. Not only are they super abundant, they are exceptionally tasty and extremely versatile, providing plenty opportunity for a raft of dishes and preserves. Annual Allium tasks that keep me busy during spring are the creating of; pesto's, flavoured oils, lacto-fermentations, protein curds, flavoured butters, pickles and flavoured salts (using smoked and dehydrated leaves). I also love creating simple and tasty dishes from the fresh leaves, unopened flower heads, open flowers and seeds, in raw form and cooked. So far this season (April 2021), I've made and crafted;  2.5kg Wild Garlic Pesto 1.5kg Few Flowered Leek Pesto 1kg Lacto-fermented Few Flowered L...

Simply Spring! Delicious and nutritious all in approx 30 mins... Hogweed Soup w/ Few Flowered Leek Flower Heads & Primrose Blossoms - I added some wild garlic & few flowered leek foliage to the soup, alongside some other more familiar commercially available ingredients. There are some truly delicious spring herbs out there at the moment and they really do make meal times more divine. They taste far superior to the 'green' folks often think they taste. The myriad of different  flavour profiles is really quite staggering, whether you are eating them alone as a simple steamed, buttered dish, combining to make the most amazing raw salad you will ever taste or infusing with more commercial ingredients. These plants are the ancestors of each and every commercially grown fruit and vegetable you see and eat, there is a very deep, natural and ancestral link with them (it's nothing to be wary or cautious of and it's not hippy-dippy-far-out-shit either) and only when you ...

I should really call this 'when opportunity knocks'! There are moments when opportunities arise while out and about, it's all about good fortune, random happenings, destiny (however you like to call it) and whether or not to act on the opportunities presented - when it comes to road-kill pheasant, I'm always happy to swing with the opportunity. This recent RTA bird was initially destined to become 'Pheasant Kiev'. However, while out early yesterday morning to pick the wild garlic required, my mind drifted and happened upon another idea I've had for a while, a take on Dolmades - this was in part due to the terrific size of some of the leaves I was finding, they were perfect for wrapping into mouth watering parcels and a bit of fun too. The following recipe made 8 dolmades and there is still enough mixture left over for at least 6 more - I should have picked more leaves! It's a flavour fusion reminiscent of the Mediterranean, North Africa and the UK. ...

It's officially Spring, a time of new beginnings, longer daylight hours (yeeha!) and powerful, nutritious herbs. This recipe is one I first made a number of years back, at my first ever food festival - I had a 30 minute slot, so needed something quick easy and representative of some of the tasty, nutritious and powerful herbs available - it's a recipe that I've tweaked over the years and recent tweaks have left me feeling very satisfied with the results and those who have shared a bowl or two with me. The great joy of this soup, other than it's delicious and satisfying taste, is the ease of identification of the wild ingredients, the very small quantities required and the simplicity regarding the cooking. This isn't just a 'simply green tasting soup', this is wild gourmet food at it's simplest and finest. Ingredients: 75g Nettle Tops 75g Wild Garlic 35g Ground Elder 2 Onions 5 Garlic Cloves 1 - 2 Tbsps Fermented Brown Rice Miso Paste 2 - 3 Tbs...

Spring is the time of re-birth, fresh beginnings, longer days, wildlife migrations & when nutrient rich plants begin to stir from their winter slumber. Wild Garlic is one of Springs earliest, wild, green visitors and is one of my all time favourites. I love picking the fresh young leaves and nibbling on them as I walk, savouring their sweet, fiery, pungent flavours, reveling and delighting as the warm oils coat my tongue and gums, making them tingle: a truly joyful and utterly sensorial delight! Ramsons, a common name given to this herb, appear prior to the emerging foliage of deciduous trees, enabling this clever and adaptive plant to take full advantage of the early, spring sunshine: and who doesn't like to do that? Gentle ambling, combined with keen, careful observation, will enable you to really focus and zone in on your surrounding habitat. Remember to look in warm, sunny and sheltered locations for signs of early season growth - I recently discovered a woodland wher...