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Learn with Miles Irving

Foraging

Learn how to forage by taking the foraging course, taught by wild food foraging guru Miles Irving.

Course overview

In the first lesson, Miles debunks the myth that foraging requires access to wild places. He will demonstrate the richness and diversity of edible plant life available on your doorstep. You will be introduced to the huge variety of wild food available in various habitats, including disturbed ground and managed grass areas. You will learn how to identify edible plants, how to gather them and work them into your own recipes.

Meet Miles Irving

Miles Irving, a lifelong forager who developed a taste for wild food aged six after going mushroom picking with his grandfather in Suffolk. A leading figure in the foraging movement, Mr Irving supplies more than 500 food products from around 300 plants online and to restaurants. Miles Irving, is one of the foremost professional foragers in the UK, author of The Forager Handbook, founder and director of Forager Ltd and host of the WorldWild podcast. Miles’s interest in foraging goes back to his childhood but a chance conversation led to him turning this interest into a career. Miles was able to start supplying restaurants with foraged plants and this quickly expanded, ultimately leading to him to supplying well-known chefs and restaurants such as Jamie Oliver, Mark Hix, Heston Blumenthal and The Ivy. His company Forager Ltd has expanded to source nearly 500 wild ingredients and Miles has grown to be one of the most respected professional foragers. Miles continues to push the boundaries of wild food and advocates the reintroduction of foraged foods into regular diets. His Foraging Manifesto is truly an innovation in this field, and a must read for aspiring chefs

Course description

Learn how to forage for food from foraging expert Miles Irving, the author of ‘The Forager Handbook’ - hailed by many as ‘the forager’s bible’.

Miles foraging foods with some of the world’s best chefs and restaurants (Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck, Rene Redzepi, Magnus Nilsson and the Hix restaurants). He has been a pioneer in the Wild Food Renaissance and has extensive knowledge of the unique flavours and stories of wild foods.

Miles’ celebrates new and ancient flavours, rediscovering the nutritional properties of wild plants and reconnecting with the land. This vital link means we thrive, eat well and work with the wild ecology of places.

Whilst examples used in this course are in Miles’s own area, the principles of this course apply to foraging all over the world. You are encouraged to share your own environments and discuss wild foods throughout the course, wherever you’re located.

You'll learn:

  • how to forage for food that grow near you
  • preparing wild food to eat and wild food recipes
  • wild foods for health and wellbeing
  • identifying plant characteristics for safe foraging

 

The course includes:

  • 5 on-demand video lessons - presented by Miles Irving
  • lifetime access to the videos, notes and interactive class
  • flexible classes - join and learn when and where you like
  • downloadable lesson notes
  • practical foraging assignments (with tutor feedback available)
  • access on your mobile, PC, Mac or laptop
  • small interactive online classroom - chat online to students from around the world and share your creative ideas

Time to complete the foraging course:

Every student is different but in general we think the whole course will take around 16 hours to complete including:

  • Video lessons: 2 hours in total
  • Course notes: 30 minutes per lesson
  • Your foraging assignments: at least 2 hours per lesson
  • Interactive classroom time: 15 minutes per lesson
  • Tutor feedback review (Expert level): 15 minutes per lesson

You'll need:

Your foraging assignments will include plant identification, so a good plant ID or foraging book will be helpful - try Miles' book 'The Forager Handbook'. You'll be preparing the foods you find, so you'll need basic kitchen equipment.