Miles Irving

Foraging

  • Recommended

    $200

    Includes personal feedback and tuition. More

  • $75

    Learn in an online classroom with no more than 20 classmates. More

Course Description

Learn how to forage for food from foraging expert Miles Irving, the author of ‘The Forager Handbook’ - hailed by many as ‘the forager’s bible’.

Miles foraging foods with some of the world’s best chefs and restaurants (Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck, Rene Redzepi, Magnus Nilsson and the Hix restaurants). He has been a pioneer in the Wild Food Renaissance and has extensive knowledge of the unique flavours and stories of wild foods.

Miles’ celebrates new and ancient flavours, rediscovering the nutritional properties of wild plants and reconnecting with the land. This vital link means we thrive, eat well and work with the wild ecology of places.

Whilst examples used in this course are in Miles’s own area, the principles of this course apply to foraging all over the world. You are encouraged to share your own environments and discuss wild foods throughout the course, wherever you’re located.

You'll learn:

  • how to forage for food that grow near you
  • preparing wild food to eat and wild food recipes
  • wild foods for health and wellbeing
  • identifying plant characteristics for safe foraging

The course includes:

  • 5 on-demand video lessons - presented by Miles Irving
  • lifetime access to the videos, notes and interactive class
  • flexible classes - join and learn when and where you like
  • downloadable lesson notes
  • practical foraging assignments (with tutor feedback available)
  • access on your mobile, PC, Mac or laptop
  • small interactive online classroom - chat online to students from around the world and share your creative ideas

Time to complete the foraging course:

Every student is different but in general we think the whole course will take around 16 hours to complete including:

  • Video lessons: 2 hours in total
  • Course notes: 30 minutes per lesson
  • Your foraging assignments: at least 2 hours per lesson
  • Interactive classroom time: 15 minutes per lesson
  • Tutor feedback review (Expert level): 15 minutes per lesson

You'll need:

Your foraging assignments will include plant identification, so a good plant ID or foraging book will be helpful - try Miles' book 'The Forager Handbook'. You'll be preparing the foods you find, so you'll need basic kitchen equipment.

Ready to get started?

Just add the course to your basket above - choose the 'Expert' option for personal feedback from Miles on your foraging assignments.

If you know someone who'd love this course then give it as a gift - just tick "This is a gift" at the checkout.

Any questions? Contact us by clicking on the orange speech symbol - we'd love to hear from you.

Course outline

  • Foraging Near Home

    In the first lesson, Miles debunks the myth that foraging requires access to wild places. He will demonstrate the richness and diversity of edible plant life available on your doorstep. You will be introduced to the huge variety of wild food available in various habitats, including disturbed ground and managed grass areas. You will learn how to identify edible plants, how to gather them and work them into your own recipes.

  • Preparing Wild Foods, Part 1

    In this lesson Miles will demonstrate the incredible versatility of wild foods with 'The Salad of many things'. Using 46 different wild plants he has foraged, Miles will show how you can prepare each, and how they can be used in different ways to create different flavours. This lesson will cover the basic principles of cooking with wild food and how you can use your findings in simple salads, ferments, sauces and soups.

  • Preparing Wild Foods, Part 2

    Miles will demonstrate how you can incorporate wild foods into your everyday dishes, and how to prepare some of his own recipe ideas. This includes salads, pasta dishes, rich dishes, stir fries, and wild meats.

  • Health & Well-being

    Finally, Miles will talk you through the medicinal properties of plants, highlighting how they will enhance your immune system and work as preventative medicine. He will also look at the hazards involved with wild foods including poisonous plants. Finally, Miles will explain how the process of eating wild foods will help you to reduce your carbon footprint, and how participating in your local ecosystems will enhance and benefit the habitats around you.

  • Identifying Plant Characteristics

    In this lesson you will be taken back to basics, and taught how you can identify plants wherever you are in the world.

Choose how you want to learn

  • The Expert option

    Recommended

    Develop your learning further with marked assignments and personal tuition from Miles Irving

    • Start course whenever you like
    • 5 weeks tutor access for personalised assignment feedback & coaching
    • 5 assignments marked by Miles Irving
    • Certificate of completion
    • Online classroom with up to 20 classmates
    • 5 lessons with expert videos & notes
    • Group chat & direct message with tutor & classmates
    • Lifetime access to videos, notes & classroom
    Learn more
    $200

  • The Peer option

    Discover the benefits of group learning in an online interactive classroom of no more than 20 people. Get the most from shared knowledge and community study

    • Start course whenever you like
    • Practise what you learn with your peers
    • Online classroom with up to 20 classmates
    • 5 lessons with expert videos & notes
    • 5 course assignments
    • Group chat & direct message classmates
    • Lifetime access to videos, notes & classroom
    Learn more
    $75

New
Buy this course for a business or group

You can now buy this course through your business or organisation for individuals and groups up to 20

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Food & Drink classroom - how it works

  • Start anytime

    Watch video tutorials led by expert tutors

    Watch video tutorials led by expert tutors

  • Test yourself

    Practice what you learn with inspiring assignments

    Practice what you learn with inspiring assignments

  • Personal tuition

    Get assignment feedback from expert tutors

    Get assignment feedback from expert tutors

  • Share ideas

    Collaborate and chat directly to classmates

    Collaborate and chat directly to classmates

Meet Miles Irving

Miles Irving - Food & Drink
Miles Irving, a lifelong forager who developed a taste for wild food aged six after going mushroom picking with his grandfather in Suffolk. A leading figure in the foraging movement, Mr Irving supplies more than 500 food products from around 300 plants online and to restaurants. Miles Irving, is one of the foremost professional foragers in the UK, author of The Forager Handbook, founder and director of Forager Ltd and host of the WorldWild podcast.

Miles’s interest in foraging goes back to his childhood but a chance conversation led to him turning this interest into a career. Miles was able to start supplying restaurants with foraged plants and this quickly expanded, ultimately leading to him to supplying well-known chefs and restaurants such as Jamie Oliver, Mark Hix, Heston Blumenthal and The Ivy.

His company Forager Ltd has expanded to source nearly 500 wild ingredients and Miles has grown to be one of the most respected professional foragers. Miles continues to push the boundaries of wild food and advocates the reintroduction of foraged foods into regular diets. His Foraging Manifesto is truly an innovation in this field, and a must read for aspiring chefs

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Awards & Accreditations

  • Good Web Guide
  • Red Herring Winner
  • Royal Horticultural Society
  • Education Investor Awards 2021 - Finalist
  • CPD Accredited (provider 50276)