A Guide To Our Workshop Formats
If you are reading this, there is a good chance you are either the lucky recipient of one of our vouchers, are considering purchasing one for a loved one, or you are looking to join an event exploring the wonderful world of wild food. You are in the right place!
For 2025, our focus will remain on edibility and tasting the amazing ingredients found in nature, whilst teaching sustainable, safe and ethical foraging. There will still be some unique sessions - we call them ‘Specials’ - such as our Supperclubs, Wild Butchery and Fermentation events, but we are going to increase the number of our more standard formats to allow people of all levels abilities, backgrounds and enthusiasm to join in.
All of our sessions focus on the ‘Four F’s of Foraging’ - fungi, fruit, flowers and foliage - providing the season allows it (we don’t find much in the way of fruit in spring, for example, but we try to find at least one edible mushroom on every session we run, regardless of the time of year). Obviously, this slightly changes on our ‘Coastal’ events too, with coastal plants (and fruit!), seaweed and sometimes shellfish taking centre stage. You can read a bit more about what you might find on one of our events by reading this update.
We've broken down our workshop formats below, which can be now be found nationwide. For all live dates, please visit our workshops page. It is also recommended that you read the full event listing before buying your tickets to find out about dogs, children, mobility, venue details, parking and more.
Taster
Click here to view all of our Taster events
Our Taster Workshops are great events for those looking to dip their toes into foraging for the first time, maybe even for those who aren’t even sure if foraging is for them yet. This is a good session for those on a budget looking to join in, that can be good for entertaining a whole family, but engaging enough to inspire even the most hardened bushcrafters, chefs or amateur foragers.
Duration: 2 hours
What to expect: A short walk, usually 1km-2km, in a green space finding, identifying and tasting a number of edible wild species and any poisonous lookalikes we may find. Small tasters of preserves may be handed out, but most species on these sessions can be tasted on directly from the hedgerow. Depending on the season and venue, you can probably expect to find 10-20 species in this short, sharp session.
Suitable for: Everyone regardless of age, foraging experience, background or enthusiasm. No previous foraging experience is required for this event.
Forage & Nibble
Click here to view all of our Forage & Nibble events
Our 'Forage & Nibble' workshops are exactly that: you will spend the day learning how to forage with your tutor and then be treated to a 'wild snack' to put it all into context! These have become our most popular events and are available at numerous locations around the country.
Duration: 3 hours (approx 2.5 hours of foraging and 30 mins preparing and eating your wild snack)
What to expect: A slightly longer walk than our Taster sessions can be expected (not by much) with a sit down towards the end of the event where you will be served either a pre-made snack or have some ingredients cooked up in front of you by your tutor. We let our tutors run their sessions in their own style, so this could be anything from baked goods to preserves to stir fries and beyond. Small tasters of preserves may also be handed out along the way, but most species on these sessions can be tasted on directly from the hedgerow. Depending on the season and venue, you can expect to find around 20 species on this session.
Suitable for: Everyone regardless of age, foraging experience, background or enthusiasm. No previous foraging experience is required for this event.
Forage & Feast
Click here to view all of our Forage & Feast events
Our 'Forage & Feast' events offer the chance to try the most wild food by far! These are ‘full day’ events, so we want people to be able to join in having possibly booked a day’s annual leave, ensuring they feel it is worth it (it most certainly is!).
"These are easily my favourite workshops to run because of all the amazing food!" - Jim Parums, Forage Box Founder and Chief Forager
DURATION: 5 hours (approx 4 hours of foraging and 1 hours preparing and eating your wild feast)
What to expect: 3-4 hours will be spent finding, identifying and tasting wild ingredients. The big difference between these events and the shorter ones we run is that there will be a big feast served at the end to create a more comprehensive experience for those attending lasting an additional 1-2 hours. Most of this is made by your tutor in advance, but freshly-picked ingredients found on the day by the group will also be added to give an extra flourish to the meal and allow guests to feel an even greater connection to their food. Below is a sample menu from a recent Forage & Feast event:
You can watch this video to see a sample 'Forage & Feast' picnic box being filled, or below is a sample menu from a Forage & Feast event in 2024:
🍴 Wild Pesto made on the day with sweet cicely, common sorrel, himalayan balsam seeds and ground elder;
🍴 Nettle seed sourdough with chanterelle duxelle, wild garlic preserved in honey and grated egg yolk;
🍴 Wild Sushi: sea coriander, guelder rose sweet chilli, sea radish pods, sea plantain, fermented blackberry, fermented wild garlic;
🍴 Pickled hop shoots in cow parsley vinegar;
🍴 Damson umeboshi;
🍴 Beefsteak fungus jerky;
🍴 Alexanders and wild garlic kimchi;
🍴 Fresh nasturtium leaf 'wonton' with pickled rock samphire seeds, marigold flowers, kelp seaweed syrup and sea buckthorn hot sauce;
🍴 Coronation pheasant with wild carrot seeds, barberry berries and hogweed seeds;
🍴 Bilberry-gin cured, smoked pigeon breast;
🍴 Perry-pickled mussels;
🍴 Wild devilled eggs - porcini, sea lettuce, marsh samphire powder🍴
🍴 Wild mushroom broth (porcini, parasol, honey fungus, chicken of the woods, turkeytail) with himalayan balsam flowers;
🍴 Common hogweed seed parkin with artist’s conk mushroom treacle and hogweed seed brittle;
🍴 Alexanders marmalade pudding with bilberry compote, dryads saddle mushroom cream and fresh fuschia berry;
🍴 Elderflower and Rosebay Willowherb Kombucha;
🍴Mirabelle Wine
Suitable for: Considerations must be taken for those with mobility issues - please get in touch to discuss. Whilst children are welcome on these events, it is recommended that any child attending is over 12 years old and that for each individual child attending, they must be accompanied by one paying adult. No previous foraging experience is required for this event.
Forage & Cook - Half Day
Click here to view all of our Forage & Cook events
Our 'Forage & Cook - Half Day' events are a shorter session than our 'Forage & Cook - Full Day' workshops, but still provide an opportunity to find, identify and gather wild ingredients to then cook them into a hearty meal as a group. This format is popular with those looking for more of a snapshot experience, whilst still having the chance to enjoy wild ingredients in a delicious context.
Duration: 3 hours
What to expect: 2 hours will be spent finding, identifying and gathering ingredients. This will then be followed by 1 hour of cooking, preparing and eating the harvest! Expect a focus on 5-10 specific ingredients, which will then be incorporated into 1 or 2 simple dishes, designed at showcasing each respective ingredient effectively. There will also be a wild tipple (soft alternative also available) served to the group and perhaps some 'table toppers' that your tutor will have made in advance to enhance the meal, such as a wild kimchi, a foraged ketchup or homemade seasoning.
Suitable for: Considerations must be taken for those with mobility issues - please get in touch to discuss. Whilst children are welcome on these events, it is recommended that any child attending is over 12 years old and that for each individual child attending, they must be accompanied by one paying adult. No previous foraging experience is required for this event.
Forage & Cook - Full Day
Click here to view all of our Forage & Cook events
Our 'Forage & Cook - Full Day' events are full day spent finding, identifying and gathering wild ingredients before cooking them into a hearty meal as a group. This format is popular with those looking for a more comprehensive experience, offering us the chance to showcase a range of wild flavours.
Duration: 6 hours (approx 4 hours of foraging and 2 hours preparing and eating your wild dinner)
What to expect: 4 hours will be spent finding, identifying and gathering ingredients. This will then be followed by 2 hours of cooking, preparing and eating the harvest. Expect a focus on 15-20 specific ingredients, which will then be incorporated into 3 to 5 simple dishes, designed to showcase each respective ingredient effectively. There will also be a wild tipple (soft alternative also available) served to the group and perhaps a range of 'table toppers' that your tutor will have made in advance to enhance the meal, such as a wild kimchi, a foraged ketchup or homemade seasoning. Occasionally, another hour is added to the event time for wild butchery, cocktail making or another activity which may incur an additional charge (specific to each event - please read each individual event listing).
Suitable for: This is a day spent almost entirely on your feet, covering a fair distance, often up to 5km on uneven ground, so consideration for mobility issues will be required before buying tickets. Children are not able to attend these sessions. No previous foraging experience is required for this event.
