What’s it about?
Running for the past 15 years, our 1 day foraging and woodland cookery courses are based on the Kent Downs in an area of outstanding natural beauty.
Our foraging and woodland cookery courses are for anyone who’d like to gain an insight into the edible delights of the British hedgerows, fields and woodlands and moreover how to cook with the ingredients that Mother Nature gives us for free.
So if you’re curious about the plants, berries and fruits that grow around you and wonder which you can eat and which you need to avoid, and you’d like to know how to turn those ingredients into delicious and nutritious meals, come and join us!
There’s nothing like strolling through the great British countryside and knowing the names of the trees and plants that you walk past and which ones you can eat! On this foraging course you’ll learn all about the abundant, tasty plants that are there for the picking (and cooking)!.
Foraging has seen a surge in popularity over the last few years and plenty of people have jumped on the bandwagon, running courses with 20 or more participants. We prefer to keep the numbers low and so for this course we only take 8 people at a time to make sure that everyone gets their moneys worth.
What will I do on these foraging courses?
Our foraging courses focus on edible plants, nuts, berries and fruits commonly found in the hedgerow, fields and woodlands. As a heads up, foraging is about as seasonal as it gets, so what we gather will depend on the time of year that you come along, so for instance if you come along in the spring we’ll be looking at all of the new plants that are coming through; come in the late summer and we’ll be turning our focus to include nuts and berries as well.
From the meeting point we’ll first have a quick chat around the legalities of foraging, the kinds of places where you should and shouldn’t forage and what containers you should use to collect your free food.
After that we’ll take an amble along the tranquil lanes of the stunning North Downs Way and look at common plants, hedgerow fruits, berries and nuts that can be eaten; we’ll collect some as we go. We’ll also point out any plants and berries that are poisonous, and how to tell them apart from edible lookalikes so you know what to avoid.
From the hedgerow we’ll move into ancient woodland and look at different plants, again collecting as we go.
When we arrive at our ancient woodland camp the kettle will be ready and you can have a hot drink. Once you’ve eaten your packed lunch we’ll have a refresher on the plants we’ve collected to make sure that you’ve got the main identification points down.
From there we’ll collect some firewood, settle in for the afternoon and start cooking using the wonderful plants that we’ve collected. Everyone gets their own dish to cook and contribute to the banquet. We’ll be cooking over open fires in the woods where the temperature is controlled by adding some more firewood!
On past foraging courses we’ve cooked a wide range of culinary treats including dandelion & hogweed frittata, sweetcorn fritters with ramsons & cow parsley, jack-by-the-hedge pakoras, blackberry ketchup, haw sin sauce, wild patatas bravas, nettle burgers, elder flower delight….
We’ll have our dishes ready at the same time so that we can sit at our woodland dining table and enjoy the results of our foraging day.
More information about our foraging courses
Location: Westwell, Kent
Duration: 1 day
Start: 10am
End: 4pm
Course size: Maximum of 8
Catering: We’ll eat what we forage, but bring a packed lunch as well as it’ll be late afternoon before the foraged food is ready.
What happens next?
Once you’ve made your booking you’ll receive an automated booking confirmation from Ecwid, our e-commerce platform provider.
We’ll send you a comprehensive joining pack 6 to 8 weeks prior to the start of your course.
This includes the location of the meeting point and what to bring.
Please read the joining pack when you receive it as it contains essential information about attending our foraging courses!!
FAQs
If you’re wondering what facilities are available at our bushcraft camp, take a look here.
If you have any questions, take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions page. If you still have a question, feel free to email us at info@jackravenbushcraft.co.uk
Please note that as we work predominantly in the woods, it’s not easy for us to be in contact 24/7. We can be contacted by phone at any time, although during teaching sessions it’s kept on silent. Email is checked as soon as we get back from the woods.
Our blog
There are loads of posts on our blog related to our foraging courses, including wild food recipes and hints & tips on foraging, so feel free to take a look.
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What our customers say about our foraging courses
We also have reviews on our Facebook page and our Google Business page so you can check out those as well.
Submit your review | |
Have just been on foraging course. Despite the awful weather, Gary and Nicola calmly carried on, delivering their wealth of information about the edible wild flowers and plants we came across. We finished up at the woodland camp and got to cook with our pickings and finally feasted on them. It was a great day and I know I'll use the knowledge, and Nicola's delicious recipes in the future.
We had a great time on the foraging course. Gary and Nicola were very friendly and knowledgeable. We learned a lot about wild plants and it was great to cook everything after.
What an amazing experience foraging with Jack & Nicola. We learnt so much throughout the day , and got to prepare & cook the food using all the different herbs & edible flowers we collected along the way !
Would definitely recommend signing up for a day of foraging 🌿🌿
Thank you Jack & Nicola
Really great experience! Did the day foraging course with family and it was fun, educational and we all made a lovely meal at the end with the items we foraged. 100% recommend P.S bring waterproofs!!
Gary and Nicola were brilliant guides and hosts. Very friendly and knowledgeable, and we would highly recommend the day foraging course.
