Meet Your Ingredients (SOLD OUT)

“Looking for a fun first step into wild flavours? Why not book a flavour foraging walk and feast. For two hours, we’ll take you on a guided walk through the surrounding area where we will show you how to identify and enjoy some of the many wild plants that grow all around us.  After which we will have a wild feast & cocktails in a the beautiful setting of The Castle climbing centres garden sitting amongst the wildlife of the Woodberry reservoir and vegetable and plants used on your dishes.”

Example Drinks

Sweet woodruff & cloudy apple juice
Sweet woodruff is a woodland plant in the same family as cleavers aka sticky grass.  Coumarin is the compound inside the plant which is the same a what you find in cinnamon. Imagine an apple strudel flavoured drink.

Elderberry Tepache
Elderberries are covered in wild yeast so much like making your own ginger beer this naturally occurring yeast is on the skin of the elderberry.  Blended with a Tepache (fermented pineapple, chilli, ginger) recipe I learnt from a Mexican man I made friends with in Portugal I’ve wilded it up and its delicious.

Douglas fir Soda
The tastiest of the pine this orange peel, grapefruit scent is steeped in water and made into a cordial then mixed with soda.  A refreshing woodland drink.

Wild Horseradish Bloody Mary
Wild horseradish is much fierier than its farmed counterpart.  If you like a Bloody Mary this one is made extra special with water pepper, wild garlic salt and a fermented elderberry sauce called “pontak sauce” which is a deeper richer version of Worcester sauce

Woodsman Gin & Tonic
A bright green gin made substituting a number of ingredients with wild shoots, seeds and roots in my own vacuum still.  A great example of what flavours exist in the wild in the UK.

Hedgerow Kir Royal
Hedgerow liquor which is an infusion of summer and autumn fruits, then sweetened and added to Prosecco or sparkling wine.  A great start for a dinner or end of a foraging walk

Hard sweet woodruff & cloudy apple juice
Sweet woodruff is a woodland plant in the same family as cleavers aka sticky grass.  Coumarin is the compound inside the plant which is the same a what you find in cinnamon. Imagine an apple strudel flavoured drink infused with additional sweet woodruff spirit.

Woodland Negroni
Along the walk I will introduce everyone to a selection of bitter plants that I infuse to make a strong bitters and depending on the time of year I mix with wild fruit syrup to make a ‘Wild Campari”. This is one part of the Negroni and its delicious

Example Food

On returning to the castle we will have a selection of food and a 3 course flavourful dinner.  All allergies and dietary requirements will be gathered in advance and a buffet selection of items incorporating wild plants and vegetables from the garden will be available shortly after arriving including:

– Along the walk we will stop for Home made sourdough selection using wild yeast from foraged fruits with dips
– On arriving back at the castle expect  Flatbreads and and wild dips such as wild garlic green tahini and nettle hummus.


Sit Down Meal Examples

STARTERS

SPRING

Wild garlic & castle garden vegetable soup

SUMMER

Summer tomatoes, wild chervil, red onions, garden herbs, lemon and olive oil

AUTUMN

Wild mushroom pierogi, garden pickles, fried onions

WINTER

Borscht using beetroots from the garden, fermented vegetables, creme fraiche

MAINS

SPRING

Root vegetable medallions, baby vegetables and nut roast served on common sorrel pesto with browned leeks

SUMMER

Jersey Royals, Elderflower, and watermint cooked over fire with chestnuts, walnuts, carrots, and radish

AUTUMN

Wild mushroom, lemon balm, lemon verbena risotto

WINTER

Pumpkin, nuts, sage & cranberry wellington with a douglas fir & white wine sauce

DESSERTS

SPRING

Rhubarb Crumble, Blackberry Brandy custard

SUMMER

Sticky Toffee Pudding using dried plums, sticky toffee sauce

AUTUMN & WINTER

Hogweed seed infused Creme Brûlée

Apple and Sweet Woodruff Cheesecake

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