Forage For A Feast....

There is nothing new about foraging, we have being doing it since the beginning of time. But when i stood on a salt marsh near Tramore with 16 culinary arts students last Tuesday and looked at them wading ankle deep in thick black mud looking for cockles, i realised how important it is for us not to loose our connection with the past.
Cockles, limpets, pepper dulse, carragheen, sea lettuce, rock samphire, scurvy grass, sea beet, snails, wild garlic and dandelion were all gathered up  under the watchful eye of Grace O'Sullivan. She has being foraging along this shore line and the back strand since she was a kid and knows every nook and cranny in the area. A mind full of information, Grace took time to explain to the student what to look for and where to look for it. We are all grateful for this new found knowledge.
In true ancient style a fire was lit and we cooked our bounty and marvelled in the true taste of natural wild food.