Galloway Wild Foods

 

Galloway is a forager’s paradise. Its mild, damp climate and wide variety of habitats offer the perfect growing conditions for all manner of delicious flora, fauna and fungi. There are few places in Britain that offer such an ideal environment for learning to forage.

NEXT EVENT:

Sunday 27th May, 2pm, Spring woodland and hedgerow plant foray – see Foraging Events Calendar:

 

2011/12 Foraging Events Calendar      Click here

Gourmet spring wild food menu Click here

IN SEASON NOW – click pictures to view info:

  Ground elder        Wild garlic   Lesser celandine

Follow the foraging year with Mark on Twitter Click here  or see up-to-the-minute #wildfood tweets below the menu              » » » »

     Sea kale           Jap. Knotweed      H. bittercress

Spring weed salad recipe ideas Click here

New blog: “Where the wild things live…” Click here

Seasonal Notes for May – Magnificent sea kale Click here

Foraging gift vouchers Click here

Throughout the site, hover on pictures for caption, click to enlarge.

I am Mark Williams and through Galloway Wild Foods I hope to share my passion for foraging and the delicious food that you can gather for free. I also offer guided walks and tuition on woodland, hedgerow and coastal foraging. After stumbling on my first chanterelles at 16, my fascination with wild foods has swollen like a cep in the rain.  My obsession with all things foodie has led to jobs as a fisherman, smoker, chef,  full-time wild food forager and now a dairy maid.  I have led forays for the National Trust and RSPB and written cookery and wild food columns for various publications. I am a trained mountain leader with 13 years service in Arran and now Galloway mountain rescue teams, so am a reasonably safe pair of hands, having saved more people than I have killed (none, honestly!)

 

I hope this site will appeal to bushcrafters, but my main focus is on finding, identifying, preparing, cooking and eating unpretentious gourmet wild food. My  seasonal tips look closely at how to get familiar with whatever is in season and Tweeters among you can get daily updates on what I am finding at @markwildfood.  The Wild Food Guide  introduces the vast array of wild foods that Galloway (and much of the UK) has to offer and I have attempted a rating system to help beginners focus on the most rewarding species. The recipe pages  will hopefully offer inspiration on what to do with them. Perhaps even more important are the pages on poisonous species. Those wishing to learn more can contact me to arrange personal tuition or join one of my organised forays. My foraging blog charts the ups and downs of my foraging year and airs my thoughts and ramblings on foraging issues and food in general.

Although this site deals specifically with the wild foods of Galloway, most of the information it contains is relevant to much of the UK and especially the west coast of Scotland.