Nik Westacott, West Dean foraging expert will be leading a wild food foray on the West Dean Estate on Thursday 20 October.

Nik Westacott - Chef and Foraging Expert

Foraging, especially for mushrooms, has long been a passion wild food expert and chef Nik Westacott.

“A lot of my colleagues wait for foragers to bring wild food finds to them but there is nothing better than being out and about seeking the ingredients myself, it helps to stop the plunder of wild food if people who know what they are looking for, gather it themselves.”

“Responsible harvesting of wild food and adherence to the Countryside Code is part and parcel of enjoying the countryside.

There’s nothing more frustrating than turning up at a favourite place to find it stripped bare and in West Dean, which is easily accessible to London, it’s becoming an all-too-common problem.

Written permission from landowners is essential for any gathering which is for more than personal use and, especially where pheasants and partridge are roaming, foragers must stick to public paths and not stray from them.

Our crazy summer has hastened the berry crops in the hedgerows and sloes are plentiful along with wild rosehips.

Wild Mushrooms

“It’s all down to rain now to really bring on the fungi. It’s still warm, although the nights are colder, so we should be in for a good mushrooming autumn.”

Nik will be leading a wild food foray on the West Dean Estate on Thursday 20 October.

Local food expert and writer Rosemary Moon will create a seasonal lunch to welcome foragers back after their hunting, before Nik cooks some of his favourite dishes with the proceeds of the morning and Rosemary and Nik share their combined knowledge of the foods of our local countryside with you.

This one-day food course is part of a year-round programme of food courses and food days which celebrate good food through a mix of talks, demos and feasting.

Wild fungi and the edible countryside food will take place at West Dean College, situated on the A286, six miles north of Chichester and six miles south of Midhurst.

Thursday 20 October,  9am – 5pm at a cost of Cost:  £107 per person.

BOOKING INFORMATION
To book a place on a short course please visit www.westdean.org.uk/college, e-mail bookingsoffice@westdean.org.uk  or call 0844 4994408

Gift vouchers for a short course can be purchased to the value of £10, £25, £50 or £100, and can be used for full or part payment of short course fees.

PLEASE NOTE!

Save 5% on all courses booked online
You will be entitled to a 10% discount on the full cost of your course booking if it is your first course at West Dean (telephone bookings only, excludes evening events).

For further information

The seashore holds surprising culinary potential for the forager and the new book “The Edible Seashore” covers everything you need to know about harvesting the bounties of the shoreline!

Following on from the success of the first River Cottage handbook, Mushrooms, John Wright has excelled himself with Edible Seashore (Handbook No. 5). As essential as a bucket and spade for a trip to the beach.

In this authoritative and witty book John Wright takes us on a trip to the seaside introducing us to the various species to be harvested, the practicalities such as conservation and the ethics of foraging; safety from tides, rocks and food poisoning; before introducing us to all the British seashore species that one might be tempted to eat. Finally, there are thirty brilliant recipes.

Introduced by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Edible Seashore is destined to join the other handbooks in the series as an indispensible household reference.

Add Edible Seashore to your collection and to take it with you on your next visit to the seaside! Edible Seashore at the River Cottage special offer price of £8.99, saving £6 off the RRP of £14.99. Have your copy signed by John and River Cottage Members also get a further 10% discount too!

PLEASE NOTE: This item is available to order now from the River Cottage Website and will be dispatched once the book is published (currently expected 2nd May 2009)