Foraging Workshops
Fungi Forays, Hedgerow Herbals, Wild Edibles, Natural Medicines, Ethnobotany
Bespoke events also available
Seasonal Forages
Join me for a day of wild food foraging at my home and environs in County Offaly, or organise a foraging day with me elsewhere!
Humans have been foraging food as long as we have existed. This has for the most part consisted of collecting naturally occuring green leaves, flowers, berries, nuts, mushrooms and roots. The benefits of collecting and eating wild food are many. Foraged food is healthy, tastes fantastic, and is a joy to collect! If done correctly it is also ecologically sustainable and is an interactive and immersive experience. When something grows in a natural environment – without being artificially fertilized, watered and weeded – it has to battle for its place in an ecosystem and thus usually produces more micronutrients than farmed produce. It is typically more potent, restorative and in some cases medicinal.
Your Forage Guide
I am Wild Food Mary, expert forager, chef, organic food enthusiast and author. I also produce a select range of fine natural products and have many recipes to share and recommend. With a lifetime of experience I lead a highly informative, yet friendly and relaxed workshop with lots of great craic! You may have seen me on tv on RTÉ in Dermot’s Secret Garden and Lords and Ladles. I pop up in the newspaper from time to time too, and have been recognised by Fáilte Ireland as a Quality Unique Food experience in Ireland’s Ancient East. My Wild Damson Liqueur was awarded 2 Gold Stars by Great Taste of London in 2014.
A Typical Forage Day
You will meet other wild food enthusiasts from different walks of life. In the morning we all gather at 10am, aiming to make a start at 10:20 after meeting each other over a cuppa. Then I will lead the group on a forage, first within the grounds and then extending into surrounding woodlands, hedgerows and anywhere else we can discover hidden treasures. Once you see just how much is to be found, be sure you will have the foraging bug and those primal instincts will kick in! You’ll then be surprised, if not astonished, at just how much food is growing all around you and your new found interest in foraging.
Dates & Price
Price: €70 per person.
2023 Spring Dates:
- Sun Mar 12th: Cloneen, Co Offaly
- Sat April 8th
- Sun April 23rd:
- Sun May 28th Cloneen, Co Offaly
Summer Dates
- Sat June 3rd
- Sun June 25th
- Sun July 2nd
- Mon Aug 7
Autumn Dates 2023
- Sat 16th,
- Sun 17th Sept
- Sun 24th sept
- Sat 7th Oct MUSHROOM DAY
- Sat 14th Oct Mushroom forage
- Sun 15th Oct Mushroom forage
- Sat 28th Oct Mushroom day
- Sun 29th Oct Mushroom day
Booking on home page or call Mary 087 7418536
If you have any questions, please email contact@wildfoodmary.com or text 087 7418536 and she will call you back.
If you hold a gift voucher you must still book, thank you.
What's Included
- Tuition and guided foraging walks lead by me, Wild Food Mary.
- use if I.D. cards to record the day’s finds.
- Tasty meal incorporating foraged foods and other natural and organic ingredients and dishes provided to compliment the season.
- Refreshments and nibbles.
- All of the ancient knowledge I can impart to the group in the course of the day, plenty of good company.
- Also available to purchase are my fine goods and bespoke liqueurs!
What to Bring
- Notebook, phone & water bottle.
- Sturdy footwear, preferably waterproof and suitable clothing for rambling about the grounds and woods.
