Zoe gathering together a special festive foraged meal!

MEET the woman foraging her entire Christmas dinner – after spending a year gathering mushrooms, chestnuts, and acorns.

Zoe Young, 29, pictured, from Macclesfield, has an interest in social history and previously tasked herself with eating a rationed diet for a week – like families did following World War II.

She found herself going into nature to find food which inspired her next challenge, making a full festive meal from foraged food.

The support worker has spent the year hunting for mushrooms, such as oyster and chicken of the woods mushrooms, and chestnuts to use in a wellington.

Zoe is making Yorkshire puddings with acorn flour and eggs from a local with chickens.

She has also ‘urban foraged’ – identifying and collecting foods growing freely around your city finding unopened jars of jam and sauces on the streets.

She plans to make and enjoy the meal with partner, Matt, 31, in the runup to Christmas.

Zoe said: “I started off doing social history. I found myself going outside looking for stuff and thought I could try foraging for Christmas dinner.

“Everything is seasonal – you find things as you go along. It’s completely surprised me how much you can find.”

Zoe took part in a ration challenge in December 2022 – only buying food 1950s Brits ate after the war.

This also included picking wild nettles and hawthorn berries for soups, teas and jams.

After loving that challenge she decided to go

‘You find seasonal things as you go along. It’s completely surprised me how much you can find’ Zoe Young

one step further this Christmas.

For Yorkshire puddings she collected acorns to ground down into a flour and managed to find a local who had chickens for the eggs – and traded them for some homemade wine and jam.

Zoe got her potatoes and vegetables from a friend – as her crops didn’t take.

She has also made a jam to go with the meal from hawthorn berries and has found wild horseradish for an alternative sauce.

The couple will be seasoning their food with wild garlic and herbs and making cocktails from rose hips and have made wine out of apples.

While Zoe has found extra unopened sugar, salt, pepper, milk and sauce sachets from the streets to include in her recipes.

Zoe has also sourced some game meat from partner Matt, for his wellington.

Matt said: “It’s been great fun, an adventure. I’m looking forward to when we eat it.”