Finders, keepers: A visual guide to forest foraging
All manner of chefs and foodies are beating a path to the forest these days, where flavourful organic ingredients are growing wild (and, as a bonus, are free for the taking). Here’s how to swap a trip to the grocery store for a field day of your own the next time company comes for dinner
Professional forager Tyler Gray, co-owner of Mikuni Wild Harvest, hunts for cliffside Saskatoon berries in West Vancouver.Kari Medig
Tyler Gray, right, forages for elusive chanterelles in a forest in West Vancouver with friends Jordan Pope and Julie LeBlanc.Kari Medig
Julie LeBlanc digs out a wild licorice root, which will later be used to flavour an herbaceous Champagne cocktailKari Medig
Bright-red coastal huckleberries lend tartness to savoury dishes such as grilled pork tenderloinKari Medig
Young and tender Douglas-fir shoots ‘have an amazing flavour and aroma,’ says Gray, who treats them as an herb (and a substitute for rosemary).Kari Medig
Tyler Gray and Jordan Pope chop up ingredients for wild-chanterelle crostini.Kari Medig
Julie LeBlanc shows off a salad composed of quinoa, summer squash, huckleberry and feta.Kari Medig
Chanterelle crostiniKari Medig
Douglas-fir and salalberry pork tenderloinKari Medig
Raspberry, basil and licoriceroot cocktailKari Medig
Colin Pope, the group’s official saucemaker, takes a well-earned bite.Kari Medig
The foragers dine on their finds in the backyard of Tyler Gray’s house, which he shares with his wife, Lucinda, in Vancouver’s Cambie Village neighbourhood.Kari Medig