About Me
A childhood filled with intrepid adventures, building hideaways and rummaging up berries, nuts and wood sorrel kindled a passion for nature that's followed me into adulthood. There is little more that gives me joy than rambling through the forest, gathering titbits for a rustic feed, all the while trying not to topple face first into the mud due to balancing an impatient pooch in one hand and a basket in the other, and a toddler somewhere around my feet.
An experienced teacher, having led wild food walks since 2016, I now deliver public courses and events in Edinburgh and Livingston. My background includes a degree in food science, a PGDE and a masters in gastronomy, employment in food production, drinks tourism and education. This has shaped how I approach my practice, particularly my study in gastronomy, giving me an understanding of food cultures, food sovereignty and food communications. I'm passionate about equal access to wild spaces and creating routes that are suitable for all abilities. I can make alterations to walks to accommodate prams and wheelchairs, please do not hesitate to get in touch with your requirements.
This year I'm looking forward to foraging on Colonsay in May and October, returning to the Scottish Game Fair in July for some fermenting as well as my usual workshops. Do join me!
Foraging is a way of seeing. It is being present in the environment, looking at what is around you, noticing each individual plant, mushroom and tree. Modern life pulls us away from this connection, learning to forage restores it. Carve out time to be a little wilder.
Beer and Botanicals
Foraging is fantastic and so is beer. Hanging around breweries, predominately Alechemy in Livingston, inspired me to put together my two favourite pastimes. Knowing far too many brewers and plenty about wild edibles led to a very sober conversation resulting in 'Spring' - 2017 collaborative brew with Cross Borders in Mid Lothian - a fruiting currant hefeweizen. Several more successful brews now under my belt with some of the central belt's most exciting breweries and perhaps the best job in the world. Currently, you can get your hands on Afresh from Docket Brewing in Glasgow, a collaborative project with Slow Food Glasgow and Peter McKenna, beautifully illustrated by Indre Simkute. It's no surprise that enveloping myself in this wonderful community has led to choosing a master's dissertation all about craft beer! In September 2020 I was lucky enough to return to QMU to study a PhD looking at beer, gender and identity in film, furthering my research in this area.
Please do get in touch if you would like to collaborate or discuss any opportunities in this area.
Want to run a beer tasting - perhaps even discussing the use of wild botanicals? With or without the foraging aspect I would be more than happy to help.
Wild Biome Project
During the spring of 2023, whilst on maternity leave and weaning the now 6-month old baby Quinn, I took part in the first wild biome project. Led by Monica Wilde and alongside 25 foragers from across the UK, we ate only wild foods to measure the impact on the gut microbiome. With the freedom from not working, I decided to join the three month cohort, beginning at the spring equinox and ending with the summer solstice. This gave me the opportunity to really immerse myself in wild food in a way that I have not for years, and to wean baby Quinn onto a range of wild foods. Cooking without the use of fats aside from a small amount of deer tallow, dairy, and tomatoes was a huge challenge and really showed what you can do with wild food. Not only that, but the health benefits for all were extremely positive, from the microbiome to other health indicators.
In the spring of 2025 I took the opportunity to return to the wild biome diet with its second outing, with a much larger cohort of participants. Understanding its demands and limitations, I decided the one month group was a more achievable target, while now working full time. Returning to a fully wild diet was very different than the first experience - my body responded very positively and I quite quickly felt full of energy and enthusiasm. However, while the time needed to forage enough food for yourself during spring is much lower than you would expect, juggling the demands of the extra food preparation was very difficult, and for me the biggest barrier to eating this way all of the time.
I hope to take part in next year's project, which will take place in the autumn when the wild foods available will be very different. This project is citizen science and in need of continued funding, with results shared freely with the public. Click below to find out more, and do donate if you can!
