I can still remember the time in culinary school when we were told we were going on a foraging field trip. I was annoyed that I had to drive somewhere on my off-day and puzzled that we weren’t going to be in the kitchen. I was imagining a day of wandering through farmer’s markets and grocery stores to find food items. I sat back in my seat, rolled my eyes, and listened as the instructor gave out the dress code for the trip. My definition of foraging meant to basically wander off in places (farmer’s market, grocery store), and find different foods. I quickly learned my definition of foraging was very different. What it really meant was we’d be driving to a local forest, with a foraging expert and going off into the wilderness to source food, and thats exactly what we did. I had no idea that one could literally find insects and random plants to eat.
Written By: Morghan Medlock
This broadened my horizon on the restaurants surrounding my neighborhood and it wasn’t until foraging for class credit did I fully understand what a restaurant meant by “sourcing locally”. Much like many restaurants in my home state California, the chefs of Ireland are no strangers to foraging. I can only imagine what it would be like in the lush, wild, green fields of the Emerald Isle. Foraging food at your local farmer’s market, is for amateurs. This particular native to Ireland, Chef Paul Cunningham is a pro at sourcing food in the wild. Having his first experiences of foraging while hanging out with his “granda Paddy” at an early age. His love for food began to sew its roots in the young mind of Cunningham. One of his first memories with food was picking mussels on the beach with his grandfather. Little did Cunningham know that he’d be destined for an advanced palette. CONTINUED
90 Rare Luxury Living
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