Forage & Feast

Bank Holiday FORAGE & FEAST near Kendal (Cumbria)

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A 5-hour course with a foraging expert, which includes ID work, tasting wild ingredients and a wild-inspired feast

£
75
per person
5
hours
session length

Highlights

  • Identify common edible and poisonous species
  • Learn practical, responsible foraging techniques
  • Taste wild ingredients
  • Explore the local landscape with an experienced forager
  • Enjoy a wild ingredient snack from your expert tutor
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About This Workshop

This course is designed to get you as involved as possible - this includes identifying, picking and tasting a range of wild species that will be found on the day. There will also be samples of wild food and drink for everyone to get stuck into and a pre-made wild snack!

The focus with all of our workshops is on the 4 'F's of Foraging: Fungi, Fruit, Flowers and Foliage. We aim for an array of these elements on every session we run (weather and season permitting!)

What You'll Do

We like to keep some elements a surprise for the day, but here is what you can expect from your foraging workshop:

  • a short introduction regarding the safety and format of the day
  • discussions around foraging tips, safety, ethics, etiquette, sustainability and the law
  • a circular walking route taking in different growing environments around the site. Expect a route of around 2-3km predominantly on footpaths
  • a closer look at edible wild species and any poisonous lookalikes by a professional forager
  • a chance to slow the pace of modern life down, meet new people and immerse yourself in a soul-nourishing activity, reconnecting with nature and discovering new flavours
  • small tasters of wild food - this may even include freshly-picked items straight from the wild
  • our workshops are run in a welcoming and informal fashion, where attendee questions and contributions are encouraged
  • after the event, you will be sent a follow-up email containing a list of everything we found on the day. Please do not expect photos or descriptions in this email - it is purely a list for reference purposes, and we find it helps people do further research in their own time.

Sample Menu

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

What To Expect

Our 'Forage & Feast' events are one of our most popular workshops with an amazing array of pre-prepared wild for you to try, open to anyone looking for a brief but informative introduction to the wonderful world of foraging. Included is a wild food picnic, and plenty of tasting along the way.

Please note: as with most of our events, this is an educational experience and not a 'basket-filling' session.

At the end of the session, there may be a small selection of our wild books and workshop vouchers available to purchase (card and cash accepted). This is a recent element of our events after enough attendees made enquiries about it - there is no pressure to buy anything having already bought tickets but sometimes people want a souvenir to take with them! Please speak to your tutor about this at the end.

Who It's For

These events are perfect for everyone - families, bushcrafters and dog-walkers alike! Nobody is made to feel out of their depth or silly for not knowing what certain things are, so these events suit absolute novices to more experienced hobby foragers alike.
We strongly believe that foraging is for everyone, with all demographics welcome, regardless of age, ability, gender or ethnicity.
Please read our FAQs further down the page to find out about dogs, children and mobility.

Essential Information/On The Day

Please arrive well in time for the start of the workshop, allowing extra time for the distance from your parked car to the meeting point and any toilet trips - we don't tend to wait for late-comers!

Your foraging guide for the day should arrive on site at least an hour before the start and will start gathering the group together approximately 15 minutes before the official start time. If you cannot find your tutor around that time, there is a chance you are looking in the wrong place, so please check the event information for the exact location (not the postcode)

Signage can sometimes be limited, so keep an eye out for anyone with a foraging basket!

PLEASE NOTE: We do not provide guests with a contact telephone number for your tutor. This is for privacy puropses but also because it is impractical to do so - your tutor simply wouldn't be able to take a call whilst with a group. If you need to get in contact, please use the email function via eventbrite or our website.

Before the day

KIT LIST: What to bring with you

DIETARY REQUIREMENTS: You will be asked for any dietary requirements when completing your booking. Please note that our workshops may not be suitable for vegans and coeliacs unless you inform us of these dietary requirements in advance - we may use butter or bread, for example. Bookings made within 48 hours of the event start time may not allow for your tutor to cater for specific dietary requirements - please get in touch if this is a concern.

EMAILS: Please add our email into your safe senders list (via your e-tickets which will arrive immediately) so you can be sent updates and the follow-up email for this workshop. Check your junk folder! If you do not do this, you may end up missing important updates or even cancellation notifications.

Attendees are encouraged to walk, cycle or use public transport to get to the destination.

Minimum number of guests for this event to go ahead: 8 people

In advance of your foraging workshop, we thought you might be interested in the following:

Our Field Notes website page

Our online Market

'What will I find on my Forage Box workshop?'

A guide to our workshops formats

Trustpilot reviews from previous workshop guests

Forage Box TV, our YouTube channel

Our website FAQs

Workshop Safety Policy, Cancellation and Other Relevant Information

Our Safeguarding Policy

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WHat Our Attendees Say

★★★★★

My wife and I did the forage and feast…

Dominic Rafferty

My wife and I did the forage and feast course near Kendal in Cumbria. Jim was an excellent guide- very knowledgeable and made us a fantastic feast.

★★★★★

What an amazing foraging experience!

Hazel

Wow! What a day we had! Alex is so incredibly knowledgeable and generous with sharing his expertise. I learned so much and can’t wait to put it into practice. Alex was really patient and took care to make sure we all got what we wanted from the day. The feast afterwards was amazing! I will definitely be back to do another day with Alex - can’t recommend him highly enough! Thank you!

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