Michelin-starred chef Adam Handling has been using foraged meadowsweet, which he uses to replace vanilla, since he opened his restaurant The Frog in east London in 2016.
“Wild foods are available only a certain amount of time, if you don’t use them, they’ll only die back and go to waste,” he said.
His team now use foraged foods across all of his restaurants in London, Windsor and Cornwall.
“A long as you don’t pull the roots out, herbs, shrubs and flowers will continue to grow,” he added.
“We’re very careful about the quantity of blossoms that we take.
“From the Clapham area we forage for edible flowers for the restaurant including mustard flowers, forget me nots, elderflowers and their berries, wild garlic and chive flowers. We also preserve these to use outside the growing season.”
