Hedge-U-cation runs wild cookery and nutrition group sessions; combining edibles collected on our foraging walks, using   locally sourced  produce for our ingredients.

The aim of the wild food and homegrown nutrition group is to inspire confidence and creativity in the kitchen, knowledge  of our  wild food and promoting positive eating for healthy minds and bodies, by planning and preparing meals together.

Simple, tasty and wholesome. Brown rice, puy lentils with feta cheese and blackberry vinegar. Mung bean and wild thyme salad, wild plant pakora, using around 10 wild herbs, ash key pickle, hogweed and willowherb chutney and steamed sea beet and seaweed

We have a mobile Kitchen, and are now able to offer wild food workshops.

We can come to venues around the country to host days or weekends of wild food fun. These will involve foraging  with an expert guide and returning back to the kitchen to create simple wild nutritious meals together from our  day’s harvest.

Afternoon snack of Wild mushroom pate, elderflower bud pickle, home made saurkraut, ash key pickle, fermented wild garlic bulb and scarlet elf cup mushroom

From fresh salads, homegrown vegetables and exciting meal combinations to pies, puddings and preserves, you’ll learn how to produce and create your own healthy food, on a budget, from scratch.

Try new flavours, experiment with recipes, and share the results of your endeavours in the group and at home. Learn the art of lacto-fermentation; a natural, traditional method of preserving food.

Making preserves at a workshop
Learning the traditional art of lacto-fermentation at a Hedge-U-cation workshop

Our wild cookery and homegrown nutrition group is open to everyone. We feel that our group sessions can be particularly beneficial for young people and adults on low incomes, people affected by social isolation, people living with mental and/or physical health complications, and those who aren’t usually very adventurous with their eating habits.

We are available for bookings

Poor nutrition can be detrimental to both physical and mental health, and is associated with a whole host of complications, from anxiety, depression and general low mood, to obesity, hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and even some cancers. A varied and balanced diet that includes plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, alongside regular exercise, can help us to feel better, heal faster, and is a key factor to good health.

We hope that by fostering a positive attitude to the sourcing, growing, planning and preparation of food, we can help people from all walks of life to take enjoyment in cooking and eating healthily.

By exploring nature, foraging, gardening and growing food together, and then preparing food and sharing meals, participants are enabled to take part in fun, low-impact physical exercise, make friends and improve their diets at the same time.

At the moment, our wild cookery and homegrown nutrition group is a brand new venture. As we go along, we will add recipes and meal planning ideas to our Hedge Food Blog. Teachers, participants and readers will be encouraged to share their own recipes, comments and reviews. We hope that this will become a useful reference tool, and we’d love you to be involved!

For more information about our wild cookery and homegrown nutrition group sessions, or to contribute recipes for inclusion in the Hedge Food Blog, please contact us here.