SCOTTISH Foraging
WITH PAUL WEDGWOOD Dream Escape joins the Edinburgh chef, whose restaurant on the Royal Mile has been a stalwart on the fine-dining scene for over 17 years, for a foraging experience along the rugged coastline of East Lothian Words | Suzy Pope
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mell that?” Chef Paul Wedgwood stops along a farm track in the middle of the East Lothian countryside. “I love the smell of nettles. It says the time for foraging has begun.” Breathing in deep, there’s a crisp sweet smell in the air and nothing but birdsong in the trees. An hour outside of Edinburgh, on a Dream Escape foraging experience with chef Paul Wedgwood, we first learn how to harvest the smallest, sweetest leaves at the tip of a nettle without getting stung. “There are so many herbs, roots, mushrooms and edible plants in this area,” he says, gesturing to the
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open fields and thick woodlands. “But nettles are my favourite. Nettles pair perfectly with lamb.” Twelve years ago, Paul added a foraged salad to the menu at his namesake restaurant on the Royal Mile, piquing the interest of many customers. “They wanted to know where everything came from. So I thought, hey, people are interested in foraging, it’s not just me.” Now, at the weekend, he leads foraging walks through the countryside just outside Edinburgh. A foraging experience through Dream Escape includes a ramble across some of Scotland’s striking coastal scenery with chef Paul identifying the wild ingredients he
