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Slow Food Fine Dining – Edible Foraging Workshop
Name: Kirsty Morris
Event: Seaweed and Mushroom Foraging Workshop
Date: 25th – 28th October 2011
Location: Newport, Pembrokeshire
October is one of the most abundant times of year for eating in the wild and there is a bumper crop in the fields, hedgerows and woodlands of Pembrokeshire right now!
Having grown up on a farm I know the basics. I know where to find enormous field mushrooms, that taste amazing cooked in butter, when to look out for blackberries, which go with the garden apples to make divine crumbles and what to do with sloes.
But aside from the usual suspects my foraging knowledge is, apparently, limited!
Autumnal Foraging
So when Lara Bernays offered me the chance to go foraging with her I jumped at the chance! Lara, and her partner Tom Bean, are local legends. Lara is a Medicinal Herbalist and Ethno-botanist, who practices in our village, and Tom is a passionate gastronomer and forager.
Foraging with Lara took me to backwaters of Pembrokeshire that I had never been before. Beautiful woodlands in hidden valleys for secret mushroom hunts!
Wandering into the forest I was already out of my depth because my mushroom knowledge was strictly field-based. Scanning the floor, I wasn’t convinced we’d find anything, but Lara’s eyes were keen and before long we had quite a sample. Once I’d got my eye in I became quite good at finding chanterelle mushrooms, much to Lara’s delight!
Next was a trip to the beach, in search of beauty products. As I collected my bag of seaweed Lara assured me that I would thoroughly enjoy my seaweed bath and, whilst I might have been a bit dubious, I did believe her. As we slipped around Lara told me we could also make shower gels and soaps – who knew?
Now I won’t go into the details, but I can report that my seaweed bath was indeed a thoroughly enjoyable experience and one I will indulge in again!
Spending time with these two is very inspiring and I cannot stress how exciting and accessible they make foraging. Thanks to them I’ve now added seaweed shower gel, hawthorne ketchup, elderberry syrup and chanterelle mushrooms to my foraging repertoire.
Edible Workshop
If, like me, you fancy finding out more about foraging you can join Lara and Tom on a 2-day workshop at the end of October.
They have merged foraging with fine dining and luxury living at Llys Meddyg restaurant with rooms in Newport, Pembrokeshire.
The course runs from the evening of the 25th – 28th October and includes the workshop, transport and all meals and rooms at Llys Meddyg. Kids and dogs welcome!
For more details please visit: www.llysmeddyg.com or ring 01239 820 008
Facebook: facebook.com/llysmeddyg
Twitter: twitter.com/llysmeddyg
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