Why We Go Crazy Foraging For Food: As Influencers Show How To Save A Fortune By Gathering Free Food

Influencers are teaching people how to forage for mushrooms, berries and herbs, saving them hundreds of pounds on grocery bills as the cost of living crisis hits.

Although winter doesn’t offer the best harvests, you can find some nuts and berries, as well as black trumpet mushrooms which retail for £5.99 per 30g and chanterelle mushrooms which retail for £7.99 per 40g .

West Sussex-based foraging influencer Fern Freud, 30, runs workshops and classes that teach people how to pluck edible plants, as well as cook and preserve them.

Candied rosehip berries, balsamic elderberry glaze, and sweet pear and chestnut tarts are some of the seasonal ‘wild recipes’ she recommends on her Instagram page and in her upcoming book Wild Magic.

Fern’s Instagram account, ForagedbyFern, has over 100,000 followers, while her TikTok videos have received just under 500,000 likes.

In season, the burgeoning businesswoman also hosts truffle hunting workshops with trained dogs when clients are invited to sample freshly picked truffles and enjoy a delicious lunch with “lots of truffle shavings.”

Fern said, “While I was in college I didn’t have a lot of money and foraging taught me how to find free delicious foods that would otherwise cost huge amounts at organic markets and high end stores.”

Meanwhile, former Michelin-starred chef and MasterChef contestant Christian Amys, 40, founded UrbanForage, a company that offers food-harvesting workshops to customers for between £15 and £80.

People are taught how to gather food ethically and legally before the French-trained chef prepares a meal from the gathered ingredients. Acorns, red bell pepper, and tricorn leek are some of the foods foragers can discover in January and February.

Bloody Marys made from the stalk of an Alexander plant, similar to celery, and leek and potato soup made with leeks are some of the winter recipes she enjoys.

The 30-year-old teaches people how to pluck, cook and preserve the best edibles.

Christian has nearly 100,000 followers on TikTok and his videos have earned him more than 350,000 likes. He said: ‘Seeing foraging ingredients in professional kitchens sparked my passion for foraging. Fifty percent of the food I eat now is fodder, which I supplement with a few bits of store-bought food: mostly meat, a few cans, sauces, and spices.

‘Herbs, particularly wild marjoram and parsley, I don’t buy anymore because I can get them for free in nature.

‘My customers tell me they don’t buy samphire anymore because it’s too expensive: £5 per basket.

‘Why pay that when you can look it up for free?’

Fresh food inflation reached 15 percent in December, up from 14.3 percent in November, according to the British Retail Consortium.