I used to believe that wild foods were the pinnacle of nourishment. Harvested from pristine ecosystems; free of toxins and unnecessary additives. Packed full of vitamins, minerals, and incredible flavors. And if pristine quality of whole foods was the exclusive concern, I’d be right. However, nutritionally not only do we need specific inputs, but to thrive we absolutely must avoid certain ‘foods’. Raising children helped me to realize a deeper understanding of this, and watching my father slip away into dementia codified it and made it undeniable.
If you know me, you’ll know that where it comes to food, my depth of knowledge literally extends into the outer limits of perception of what actually qualifies as food. I made a career out of identifying ‘food’ that grows in nature. Truly wild, not just edible, but utterly delicious and in most cases exceptionally nutritious. This pursuit extended to a substantial knowledge of medicinal plants and mushrooms along the way, and put my name (along with Wild Purveyors) in newspapers like The New York Times, and on TV shows like Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods.
I spent more than 20 years refining my knowledge of wild food, which further enhanced a passion for food that has been developing for the better part of my life.
Over the past decade though, my perception radically changed. I started evaluating food for sustaining and nurturing life, not just for its flavor and application. The lens that I had so passionately polished and the palate that I….
