Foraging family offer food fans taste of wild
WE all know how beautiful Macclesfield is, and thanks to the Thorneycroft family, now we can find out how good it tastes too.
It was on a walk with friends near his Bollington home that Freddie Thorneycroft, 24, realised the wealth of food to be foraged from the hedgerows, including damsons, blackberries and elderberries.
He and his brother Bertie, 26, had brewed beer from nettles and sold foraged jams for charity as children, so it was a natural step for Freddie to launch his own business - Fruits of the Forage - creating and selling chutneys and cordials made from wild ingredients.
Now Freddie, who has won awards for his Dam Sloe Jam and Hogweed Curry Chutney, is on a mission to share his passion for the wild food business, and has been joined by the rest of his family to run cookery courses and wild food supper clubs where guests can learn how to forage for themselves.
Freddie, who lives on Grimshaw Lane and studied Environmental Science at university, said: “We forage everything from Bollington. We hope we can spark people’s interest in foraging by showing them the amazing flavours to be found in the wild. Foraging brings back the connection with the landscape which we have lost. We have lost an appreciation of the foods which grow around us and our connection with nature and the seasons. Foraging is the most direct way to reconnect with nature and reminds us of a time before big supermarkets.”
The Thorneycroft family members each take a role running the venture, with brother Bertie working as chef, gardener and forager, mum Claire acting as preserving expert and forager, sister Tilly doing admin, brother Archie helping with the picking and sister Ruby as chief labeller.
Family friend Rhodrie Lowndes also helps out, while Bertie’s girlfriend Francesca De Campora and family friend Ben Limb are chefs.
They run courses at Ingersley Vale Community Garden where many of the ingredients are grown, with regular supper clubs held at The Poachers in Bollington.
Freddie added: “The supper clubs have been fantastic. The response has been outstanding, with people amazed by the discovery of wild new flavours. Showing plant samples and talking through each dish leaves customers with a real appreciation and introduction to wild food.”
Visit fruitsoftheforage. co.uk for details of supper clubs at The Poachers and other venues.
Pictures by Fiona