Urban foraging for food - Fresh, tasty and free | DW Documentary

Key Concepts

• Urban Foraging: The practice of finding and harvesting wild edible plants, herbs, mushrooms, and seaweeds within city environments.
• Fermentation: A centuries-old preservation technique involving microorganisms (yeast, bacteria) to transform food, making it last longer, more digestible, and often enhancing its flavor.
• Rock Samphire: A type of wild edible plant, described as a "type of carrot," found in coastal areas.
• Sulfur Polypore (Chicken of the Woods): A distinctive edible mushroom known for its texture and flavor, often compared to chicken.
• Sourdough Starter: A culture of flour and water containing wild yeast and bacteria, used to leaven bread and other baked goods.
• Evening Primrose Capers: Pickled flower buds of the evening primrose plant, used as a wild alternative to traditional capers.
• Wild Garlic Kimchi: A fermented dish made with wild garlic, inspired by Korean kimchi.
• Mullein: A wild plant whose flowers can be eaten in salads or used in teas.
• Sea Spaghetti: An edible seaweed found on coastlines.
• Mahonia Berries: Tart and sweet berries from the Mahonia plant, used in cocktails and other culinary applications.
• Hogweed: A versatile wild plant whose shoots can be deep-fried and seeds can be made into capers.
• Tempeh: A traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans, serving as a protein-rich vegan meat alternative.

Introduction to Urban Foraging: A Growing Movement

The video introduces urban foraging as a burgeoning trend where city dwellers discover and utilize wild edible plants, herbs, and mushrooms growing in urban landscapes. This practice offers free, flavorful, and often healthier alternatives to supermarket produce, emphasizing self-sufficiency and a deeper connection to nature. Two prominent figures, Alexis Goertz in Berlin and Christian Amys in Brighton, exemplify this movement, each bringing unique skills and philosophies to the table.

Christian Amys: The Brighton Forager and Culinary Innovator

Christian Amys, a 42-year-old modern forager in Brighton, England, has largely abandoned grocery shopping, finding nearly all his daily nutritional needs in the city's "big pantry." He describes the experience as "getting free food from where you live" and finds it "a lot more enjoyable, a lot more rewarding" than relying on supermarkets.

• Foraging Locations and Finds: Christian meticulously searches street corners, concrete cracks, and even beach boardwalks. His finds include:
  • Rock Samphire: Described as a "type of carrot," he notes its superior taste when grown naturally, absorbing "lovely nutrients, the sea air."
  • Nettles, Three-corner Leeks, Wild Marjoram, Wild Fennel, Pineapple Weed, Dandelion Heads, Elder Flowers, Dog Rose: A diverse array of wild plants and flowers.
  • Sulfur Polypore (Chicken of the Woods): A prized mushroom found on trees, which he likens to "getting a little serotonin release" and "finding a gold nugget."
  • Sea Spaghetti: An edible seaweed, with Christian noting that "all seaweed is edible."
  • Wild Garlic Seeds: Used to make foraged capers.
  • Hogweed: A versatile plant whose shoots can be deep-fried and seeds processed.
• Foraging Philosophy: Christian prioritizes self-sufficiency, stating, "I don't like or rely on other people. I don't like to rely on the supermarket." He carefully assesses foraging spots for cleanliness and abundance, choosing "stuff that's in abundance and looks really healthy." He spends only "a few pounds a week on groceries" for staples like butter and flour.
• Culinary Background and Transition: Christian trained in seafood restaurants in Biarritz, France, and worked in Michelin-starred restaurants in London for nearly a decade. He learned "what flavors work together" and how to balance them. The high-pressure environment of fine dining, however, was detrimental to his health. After losing his job during the COVID-19 pandemic, he transitioned to urban foraging, allowing him to continue his passion for cooking "in a different environment."
• Real-World Application: Family Dinner: Christian prepared a dinner for his parents using almost entirely foraged ingredients. The menu included "chicken of the woods with some noodles," nettles, wild fennel, and alexander. His parents were surprised by the flavors, particularly the "revelation" of rock samphire in a sauce and the "crispier than meat" texture of the chicken of the woods.
• Business Venture: Christian, with his brother Sebastian, founded a start-up focused on urban foraging, offering food, herb walks, and cooking classes. He also supplies "top restaurants and cocktail bars" in Brighton with his wild treasures, such as mahonia berries and fennel pollen, for "radically local" drinks.

Alexis Goertz: The Berlin Fermentation Pioneer

Alexis Goertz, a Canadian living in Berlin for over 10 years, is a pioneer of the urban foraging movement, particularly passionate about fermentation. She finds Berlin "fantastic for foraging because we have so many giant green spaces" and immense natural diversity.

• Foraging and Culinary Creations: Alexis finds food "right at the side of the road" and believes it "tastes better than what you find in the supermarket," being "a lot more spicy, a lot more flavorful" and "not wrapped in plastic." Her breakfast includes "sourdough bread made from acorn flour with pickled evening primrose capers and wild garlic kimchi." She also forages during her travels, bringing back "salt and other kind of wild things" instead of typical souvenirs.
• Fermentation Expertise (Edible Alchemy): In 2012, Alexis founded "Edible Alchemy" as an "experimentation ground" to research and combine fermentation with wild plants. She highlights the health benefits of microorganisms and the process of fermentation:
  • Mechanism: "Fermented foods are kind of pre digested... external stomachs that have opened up all of the nutrients and minerals that we need to get." This allows for "fast, efficient energy" absorption.
  • Process: Fermentation is "as simple as adding saltwater to the vegetables and waiting." Microbes, yeast, and bacteria naturally present on vegetables transform them.
  • Sourdough Starter "Cornelius": She daily feeds her sourdough starter, "Cornelius," which is "158, will be 159 in November," emphasizing the care required.
  • Examples: She ferments cucumbers with oak leaves (waiting "at least 5 days," with some pickles lasting "2 years"), and creates dishes like fermented goutweed sauerkraut (tasting like truffles after 3 years) and tempeh (fermented soybeans, a "protein-rich vegan alternative for meat").
• Community Engagement and Education: Alexis has over "200,000 followers on Instagram" and conducts workshops in Berlin, offering "herb walks" to give participants "a different perspective on the city."
  • Workshop Content: She teaches that "there's something in nature to forage every week" and encourages a "conscious and fear-free approach to nature," surprising many with "how much is edible."
  • Foraging Rules: Alexis emphasizes mindful foraging: "Pick what you need. Pick mindfully. If you're going to pick leaves from a tree, pick individually and don't strip the whole branch."
• Philosophy on Diet and Diversity: Alexis argues that "the supermarket is limiting what we eat." Her mission is to show people "there's so much more out there that it's not on the regular market." She wants people to "expand, expand their diets, expand their palates, expand their minds. Overall, it's good. Diversity is key!"

Conclusion: A Sustainable and Flavorful Future

Both Christian Amys and Alexis Goertz demonstrate that urban environments are rich sources of edible wild food, offering a path to greater self-sufficiency, healthier eating, and culinary innovation. Their work highlights the benefits of connecting with nature, understanding food origins, and embracing traditional preservation techniques like fermentation. By sharing their knowledge through workshops, culinary creations, and business ventures, they inspire others to explore the bounty of their local surroundings, challenging conventional notions of food sourcing and promoting a more diverse, sustainable, and flavorful diet. The movement emphasizes that foraging, when done mindfully and responsibly, is not only a practical skill but also a deeply rewarding and enriching experience.