The Wild Cooke

Foraging Experiences

Home: Welcome

Hello There

Welcome to my tiny space on the internet.

I intend to fill it with dandelions, wild strawberries and sea spaghetti.

So, whether you have stumbled upon it, have come looking for foraging courses, or general information, I hope you find more than you are looking for.

Lucy,

The Wild Cooke

Reviews

Testimonies from previous clients and colleagues

A delightful meander into the world of foraging. Lucy makes the subject fun and entertaing for both the novice and the more practised

Fiona Thomson

Lucy's warmth, sensitivity, humour and ability to connect with her audience made foraging engaging and exciting. Foraging with Lucy inspired in me a sense of child-like wonder whilst also reminding me and teaching me about my responsibility toward ecology and the role we have as humans within it.

Isabel Lewis

Lucy is fabulous!!!! I learn something new on every walk I do with her. She's so knowledgeable about all wild things and she's an encyclopedia of information. I always leave feeling inspired to get outside and add more foraged foods into my diet. She has such good energy and you feel great just being around her. I can't wait for the next foraging walk. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us!

Fin Gillespie

We had the pleasure of engaging Lucy to talk to our NACTSPC group about all-things-foraging in the suburban outdoors. Lucy was engaging, knowledgeable and fascinating to listen to. By far the most popular item on our agenda for the day. Thank you Lucy

Jemima Neale

I went on one of Lucy's foraging workshops today and it was fabulous. Lucy was very entertaining and extremely knowledgeable. She really brought the subject to life.

The lunch made from foraged produce at the end of the workshop was a gastronomic delight. We all went away stuffed!

Samantha Jennings

I always love stumbling across witches butter (note that this common name is used for several other species too). It's frozen in this video but usually has a jelly like texture 😃🧡

It grows on dead branches of hardwood species like gorse and is really gelatinous - another common name for it is the yellow brain fungus 🍄‍🟫🧠

If you read about this it might be listed as inedible but that isn't technically true. It's enjoyed in China and other east Asian countries utilising their expertise on mixing textures and infusing big flavours. I really should try it. It has a history of medicinal use and can withstand freezing, unlike some fungi, so I could go back and collect. Should I give this a go?! 🌿🤗

Watch until the end and you'll hear how @flavourfred and I have created a Mara wobble flubble monster 🫣🤣

Witches butter // Tremella mesenterica

Bringing Nature In 🍄‍🟫🫐

I came across these pictures this morning of an indoor nature and wild food workshop I did for children at @lochaberhope @new_connections_lochaber last year (or the year before? 🫣)... It was so much fun creating a nature display featuring some edible and medicinal species for the folk to explore 💚🌿

Although I think spending time outside and really focusing in on what's around you during a foraging walk is part of its integral charm, it's not always possible. Being able to bring nature in can enable that connection with the environment that we all need 🙏🌱

Winter is a fantastic time to do this. In fact it's quite normal in our culture... Think about it. From Christmas trees to wreaths, pine cones and mistletoe. This is the season to bring the outside in. And whilst we might differ from one another as to why we carry on these traditions we all benefit from them.... Hmmm this definitely sounds like a subject for my new blog section of the website. Following the storm, I'll be out looking for some lovely conifer branches to decorate the house. What have you brought in?🌲❄️

It's raining rosehips!! 🌹🌬️🙌

Sometimes storms bring gifts from up high! Big thanks to storm darragh for wobbling the massive dog rose bush this morning. It was full of juicy rosehips in cracking condition 🤗😍

These will go into the freezer (sorry Mum) until I can be bothered to make up some yummy red sauce for the @wildbiomeproject. They are sweet and fruity and will make a great wild passata. Rosehips are rich in vitamin c although cooking will reduce this somewhat. I will try to be gentle and not boil it too much to conserve the vitamin content 👩‍🍳🔥

Sadly the storm has been quite disruptive already this weekend so I hope I am not coming across as insensitive. The Much Wenlock Christmas Fayre was cancelled today and I really feel for all the businesses affected. It's such a beautiful event and a great earner for all the wonderful crafters and artists. Gggggrrr storm darragh but also, thanks for the hips 😬🤫

Dog rose // Rosa canina

What's hiding on the woodland floor? 🍄🙌👌
Keep watching 》》to see why jelly flaps are better known as jelly or wood ears!! These chaps are so good at drying out for storage. And as they don't have much flavour, you can reconstitute them in the liquid of your choice for a tasty bite! Most folks seem to go for sweet treats, often dipped in chocolate, perhaps due to their gelatinous texture. Think wild jaffa cakes or foraged Turkish delights!

They are used a lot in Asian culture (referred to as wood ears) featuring in savoury dishes, too. Stir fries and broths, etc. A word of warning if you try frying them..... explosive! They are thought to be highly medicinal. Research is currently towards use as an antithrombotic - reducing blood coagulation. So probably best for those on blood thinners etc to avoid!

Jelly ears/wood ears a.k.a jelly flaps 😂😂 // Auricularia auricula-judae《《MORE JELLY FLAPS 》》

@flavourfred George, how'd you like these?! Couldn't do a video without a little wobble wobble! 🤣🫢

FESTIVE GIFT VOUCHERS 2025 ❄️🌲🎁
There is still plenty of time to order one of my gift vouchers for use on my courses next year. I am running ten workshops in Ballachulish and Much Wenlock. There will be either a short course of two hours with a drink and a snack or my longer course over four hours with snacks, drinks and a wild food picnic at the end 💃👣🌿

Gifting an experience is always a lovely option and this is a fun and educational opportunity for folk to gain an understanding of the landscape that they perhaps haven't had before. And unlike giving your money to faceless large companies I will deal with you personally, do my best to ensure a wonderful experience and be incredibly grateful that you have decided to shop with me 🤗🥰🐿️

📷 @katrinemoefoto, @benjamin_barendrecht and @lisawebbphoto

I absolutely adore fennel and had been thinking about trying to find some feral fennel to harvest. Luckily my pal @thelittleforagerskitchen knows all the best spots and told me where to look 🙌💚🌿

“A walk in nature walks the soul back home.” –Mary Davis 💚🌿

I've got lots of walks planned for 2025.... Are you coming? 👣🚶‍♀️🥾

The @obanwinterfest was the best way to get into the festive spirit 🙌❄️🤗

It is such a wonderful collection of community and business coming together and showcasing the fantastic energy and enthusiasm in Argyll 🙌👍🥰
📷 @emilycalendra

TURKEY TAIL 🦃🍄
What a stunner of fungus. Just like the bird, this creates a beautiful fan of banded colours, usually with a pale edge. Underneath, you will see creamy white tiny tubes. This fungus mostly grows on hardwood logs. A few lookalikes, so have a look in your books 📚 💚🙌

Thanks to the lovely @wildfoodstory for her tips on double extracting so I now have a wicked good health booster. After another round of nursery bugs, I need it!! 😭😂🤧

Boosting your overall health, immune system, and gut, turkeytail is high up on the list of medicinal mushrooms. You can powder it, make tea, ferment it, or extract it. Do some research to see what benefits you will get from each different method👍😁❤️‍🩹

Turkeytail // Trametes versicolor

HAPPY BLEAK FRIDAY 🫣
If you are considering festive purchases today please choose wee businesses like mine and keep the spirit and magic of this time of year alive by investing in your community. There are some amazing folk out there and buying from them will make a difference. You are also more likely to get higher quality, more care and an individual experience 😄🙌👍

I have vouchers to be redeemed for any of my courses in 2025 and will be posting the details of them over the next couple of weeks. Get in touch if you would like one 😁🌿🐿️

📷 @winifredbrookyoung, @catrionaparmenterbrandphotos
@katrinemoefoto

I am looking forward to being reunited with my doggy Myrtle over the festive period 🤗🐶🐾

She's away living with my mother in law in Wales just now (for various reasons). It is hard not having her around all the time but I know she is being well looked after 🤗💚🙌

Shout-out to little Rosa too (final photo) who is living her best life in her forever home in Edinburgh with my lovely pal Shauna 🥰😚👍. She is a cockerpoo and started to struggle with our growing family. She's definitely a one woman dog and is a wee towny at heart 💜

If you are thinking about getting a dog do loads of research around the breed and really consider your situation and whether they'd be suited to it. I didn't and am just really lucky to have some great family and friends that have ensured the pups are happy 😊 👍

There are some amazing dog charities so adopting is a fantastic option!!

Gutweed you tasty creature 🌿🙌💚

There are several seaweeds that are only large enough to harvest late in the season where I live and this is one of them. You can see how it gets it's name 😂

Growing high up the shore line this is an easy one you can grab regardless of what the tides are doing. It is surprisingly tasty. I wash this (really well- see below), dry it and then blitz it down into tiny flakes to use as sprinkles. You can use it as a healthier salt alternative, add it as a stick to soups and stews and sprinkle on everything. I am a big lover of salt so having this around helps me to balance out my intake 😄🤗🙌

Some important things to remember:

- there are several species in this group that can be treated in the same way 👍
- avoid patches that are in drain, sewage and field run offs as this chappy likes the poop 💩
- wash, wash and wash again. The tubes trap sand and wee beasties which don't make decent sprinkles. Sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca and Ulva rigida) are larger and flat fronds so much easier to clean if you find those 🫧😵‍💫
- always harvest with scissors to avoid ripping the whole seaweed from its substrate. Keep moving whilst you are working to avoid overharvesting one area and take only the top third so that it can continue to grow ✂️

Gutweed // Ulva intestinalis

Have you ever really looked at a walnut? I don't think I had until I had to crack a few hundred. Aren't they beautiful?! The pattern looks like roots or a plant creeping up towards the light. Of course I sometimes forget that this nut is in fact a seed.🌱🙌

Nutritionally these are rich in fat like all nuts, particularly omega-3 fatty acids making them good for the brain and central nervous system. They contain phytochemicals with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Further research continues on their affect on weight loss, cholesterol reduction and gut health. I wonder if my regular serving will improve my microbiome health during @wildbiomeproject 🌰🌿💚

Walnut // Juglans regia

Fort William Mountain Festival WINTER FORAGING WORKSHOP 🌿🐿️❄️

In February next year I'll be braving the elements (in a very tame and wholesome manner) under the mountains in Glen Nevis for my first event of 2025 in association with @mountainfestival 🏔️⛄🌲

Join me for a mini course in Winter Foraging exploring the best of the season, identification techniques, wild food ethics, cooking tips and more. I have two dates available including valentine's day (sounds like a fabulous date 🥰😂🙌). Booking is essential and your ticket includes a hot drink and cake 🍰🫖😀

Friday 14th February 1pm to 3pm
Saturday 15th February 10 am to 12pm

Glen Nevis, Fort William // £35 pp

Get in touch to book 🤗❄️👍

Poster image 📷 @catrionaparmenterbrandphotos courtesy of @cairngormsconnect

This is an old picture from a few years ago on a particularly good day 🙌🤗😀

With the help of a friend I am currently updating my website so apologies if you cannot find what you are looking for.. I'll post when it is ready to go but in the meantime please send me a private message if you have any questions or would like to buy a gift voucher or anything 🌿🐿️💚

The walnut harvest 💚🌿
I was lucky to find a big haul of walnuts whilst visiting my family last month in the field by their house. Recent high winds had encouraged the trees to drop their gifts. With the help of my Dad and daughter we gathered a big bag full. After bringing them home I have had them drying out in trays. This week I have spent six days shelling them to see how many were viable to support my three month wild-food-only diet next Spring 🌱🐝🌼

It has taken hours and eventually started to hurt my hand but every time I found a viable nut inside I was so thankful. It is such a privilege to be in a position where I can do this and the uber focus and feelings of collecting your own food stores is such an experience in itself.They are such beautiful nuts- I'll share a picture soon. And the taste of these is amazing. I am looking forward to experimenting with them 🤗😃

If you would like to support my experience please consider donating to the @wildbiomeproject and help to cover the costs of the science so they can see what a difference this has made to my health, body and gut. The link is in the bio 🙌🙏😚

Fellow Foragers in the @association_of_foragers what is your favourite wild food to introduce people to?

Mine is scurvy grass! 🌱💚 There's nothing like a punch of wild wasabi to divide a crowd!! It's a great opportunity to talk about our modern taste buds and pushing flavour boundaries 🤤😵‍💫😂

I love the tales of its historic use by sailors on long journeys to prevent scurvy⚓⛵ Through filming for the @rurachd series for @bbc.alba and @bbciplayer with @maryannkennedyalba I have learned it's called Am Maraiche in Gaelic which means the mariner reflecting this relationship 🌊🌿 And most impressively the Scots used to cultivate it to eat it for breakfast?! 🫣😀

So how about you? Feel free to answer in the comments or use the new 'note' function by clicking the paper plane button and click add note 🙌🗣️🧐

Cheers,

Lucy The Wild Cooke 🐿️💚

Are you looking for a special gift this festive season? 🎁🎄🎶

Purchase a The Wild Cooke gift voucher to use towards foraging walks, private bookings and wild food picnics 🍄‍🟫🙌😀

" Foraging with Lucy inspired in me a sense of child-like wonder whilst also reminding me and teaching me about my responsibility toward ecology and the role we have as humans within it" Isobel Lewis 😊🌿

My foraging workshops take place in various locations across the Scottish Highlands, Argyll and Shropshire. Support my tiny business and let me treat your loved one to an unforgettable time getting to know the magical world of wild foods. It's truly a mind, belly, and soul experience 🦞🤤🌳

📷 1. @catrionaparmenterbrandphotos for Hill to Grill Festival @cairngormsconnect

📷3. @lisawebbphoto for @havenhillsfieldandkitchen collaboration

📷 4. @jordangyoung for @weareclimavore community event

📷 6. @finnnmatheson for Isle of Mull foraging, fermentation and yoga retreat

Whilst most of you have probably drank a gin and tonic, have you ever seen the berry that flavours it?! 🍸🌲🙌

Juniper is a small evergreen conifer with short and spiky needles on brown/red bark. They are found in woodland, heathland, moorland and chalk downs. Technically the 'fruits' aren't berries at all but wee blue cones. They cluster close to the branches so often you have to get below the plant to look up and find them. They are best knocked off into a container I find. Being so spiky means you'll only have the patience to harvest a handful! 😅🫣🙌

Juniper (along with yew and Scots pine) are native to Scotland. It does also grow south of the border but it is sadly in decline across the UK. This seems to be for many reasons but the main culprit is habitat loss (are we surprised? 😟). They are sensitive fellows with only a 2% seed viability so when you throw in other issues like disease you start to understand the complexity of their success. As a pioneer plant, juniper
creates a decent place for other species to grow (like Scots pine up here) but in doing so they get outcompeted eventually. This means they rely on new open bare ground to flourish....

They used to be harvested here but now the juniper we use in gin making and flavouring all comes from Tuscany despite the suggestion that mindful harvesting can actually support the sustainability and conservation of the species. It is certainly true that small scale harvesting and close reliance/intimacy with a species encourages a responsibility from the human counterpart to support the future success of the partner organism. It's certainly an interesting subject I would like to research further🌱💚

I loved teaching about juniper whilst leading foraging walks for @cairngormsconnect Hill to Grill Festival and was happy to find plenty in the rolling moorland where I was staying so I could harvest some for my stores for the @wildbiomeproject. Unfortunately gin will be off the menu 🫣😂😭 whilst on the 3month wild-food-only diet next Spring so I'll use these beauties to help flavour my meals. They are gorgeous and peppery/piney with a resinous winter spice touch. Yum!

Juniper // Juniperus communis

The blewits keep on coming 💚🤗 but this one seemed a little funky so I left it. I am not sure what is going on.. @mycosiauk Brendan what say you? A parasitic fungus? 🍄‍🟫💜🧐

TIS SOUP SEASON 🍵❄️🧣

It is getting cold around here eh?! I naturally start hankering for all the soups as the weather changes towards the end of the year. They make super quick, nutritious and easy meals and are a great way to use the best of the seasons hardy vegetables 🍠🥔🥕

And you can add a few foraged ingredients....

This leek, tattie and tarragon soup has a three seaweed and porcini stock and is topped with lacto fermented wild garlic 🌱☺️🍄

That will try and balance out some of the masses of chocolate I am also consuming. At least that's what I tell myself 🫣😂😭

Oh to see sunshine in a flower, on the dreariest dreich days.

Gorse is a special plant that cheers me up and feels like home. The flowers are edible. I add some sunshine to my plates regardless of the sky.

Gorse // Ulex sp.

MAKING ACORN FLOUR 🌳🌰😃

Here is a short reel following me learning to make acorn flour. I would regard myself as a little bit of a lazy forager so anything that has multiple processing stages seems to put me off and I don't usually get round to it 🫢😑🫣

Preparing to live off of a wild-food-only diet for three months next April for the @wildbiomeproject is pushing me to explore some of these foraged ingredients 😀🙌🌿

Acorns are an amazing wild source of nutrition, starch, protein and fats. I want to make (naturally gluten free) flour that can help me to create batter for pancakes and other cakey things, a sauce thickener and who knows what else! 😁🌳👩‍🍳

They are high in tannins so after drying them out a bit to mature I put them in a spice grinder to turn into a flour/meal. Then I popped them in a jar with cold water (half and half). This was stored in the fridge and every day I poured off the water (browned with tannins) and topped it up with fresh water. After the third I started trying it and on the 5th day I decided I couldn't taste any bitterness. So I have squeezed it out and will now dry it 😊🥳🙌

Hopefully I will have some usable flour to experiment with in the Spring. My book says to store it in the freezer.... @edible.leeds (a.k.a acorn wizard 😂) do you store yours in the freezer for long term use? 🌱🙂‍↕️👍

If you ever wondered if you can be serious whilst wearing a set of willow antlers made by the fabulous @annasticklandweaving, the answer is not really.

What a mad to end my teaching for the year. Thanks for having me again @cairngormsconnect for the Hill to Grill Festival.

📷 @catrionaparmenterbrandphotos

Hey my fellow nature nerds! 😎🌿🙌

Do your family and friends try to avoid going out for walks with you too?! 😭😂🌿

ONE FOR THE EYES 👀🍄‍🟫🙌
Here we have a beautiful non-edible! The shaggy scalycap. It's an important one to recognise for those in pursuit of edible honey fungus.

It grows in these clusters, usually at the base of trees and stumps. Its stem and cap have these amazing scales. Gills are pale at first, a yellowy colour through to brown spores as they mature. Its veil forms a wee skirt, but it doesn't hang about.

Shaggy scalycap // Pholiota squarrosa

Exploring the new world of acorn processing this week... I haven't managed to gather many so it's a good job that my Cypriot ones are HUGE 🌰😃👍

I have no idea if I am doing it right but am working through a book, the tinternet, and bothering my pal and acorn wizard @edible.leeds 😃🌳🙌

I'll do a wee reel of full process once finished presuming I am actually successful 😂. It's pretty important as it'll be one of my only wild flours for the @wildbiomeproject next year so here's hoping 😅🤞😊

Mara's getting stuck in too and she's almost helpful these days 😂🤣😂

@westhighlandherbal how was this over a year ago?! Can we please hangout sooooooon....

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