That’s what happens when people get a taste of eons-old traditions—and berries beyond the grocery store—says Nick Weston, founder of Hunt Gather Cook: They hunger for more. He has been bringing “newbies” from London to Los Angeles to Shepherd’s Barn on his Firle Estate, in Sussex, since 2011. His butchering courses and live-fire feasts sell out. “The only thing I’ve found people are uncomfortable with is cutting off a rabbit’s head with a machete.”
Understandable.
Not all wild food requires far-flung travel, nor a steel stomach. Alexis Nikole Nelson–aka @blackforager—instructs her almost three million followers on how to eat acorns. Her first cookbook, brilliantly titled “Happy Snacking, Don’t Die!” is already being devoured by the masses, along with her recipes for Pine Shortbread Cookies and Milkweed Buds.
Whether you’re going nuts in your own backyard or spearfishing lionfish off the coast of Florida, connecting with your environment in this way “sparks a true sense of place that can develop into a deeper sense of environmental stewardship,” says Sam Shepherd, a biology professor and director of agriculture and catholic environmental stewardship at Ava Maria University in the Scottish Highlands.
Today, such slow immersion in a local food system is increasingly accessible to travelers, Shepherd explains, adding that it “contrasts starkly with tourism based on brief curated visits in which the local food and culture can become a side-show.”
On the North Fork of Long Island, Lin Beach House takes a more laidback approach. Run by the married duo behind Matchbook Distillery, Brian Kwasnieski, a commercial fisherman, and his wife, Leslie Merinoff Kwasnieski, the contemporary six-room Victorian invites people to, per the website: “Pull the fish. Cut the herbs. Blend the gin. Come back for dinner.” And people do. Pickling, clamming, and preserving, too.
“We’ve had a lot of financial analysts lately,” says Leslie with a laugh. “People love scooping the fish!” Brian practices the sustainable method of pound trap fishing, which avoids bycatch, she explains. He usually heads out on his boat at 4 a.m. to bring in pufferfish, porgy, and mackerel.
Wait, guests get up at 4.am.?
“Oh, no,” Leslie corrects. “We let them sleep in until 10.”
It is vacation after all.
