The Forager Chef's Book of Flora: Recipes and Techniques for Edible Plants from Garden, Field, and Forest

This is a beautiful book. Alan is a wizard around wild food. My favorite parts of this book are the wild green soups: really great way to get wild greens into my families diet in a way that tastes amazing!

It’s a real treat for forager-type people such as myself to have an entire cookbook dedicated to making quality recipes from harvesting the bounty growing wild around us. It would also be an inspiration for anyone who’s just dabbling (“What the heck can I do with stinging nettle I found on a walk?”).I’m vegan, so ‘The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora’ brings a real richness and satisfaction to my diet. But this book is not vegan, so it’s more versatile than that. There’s steak sauces, flavored butters, bisques, fish, etc. But it’s the creativity and quality of the recipes that really shine and make this cookbook a page-turner. I’ve already bookmarked 15 recipes I want to try, but will have to go ‘foraging’ to find the ingredients. So this book is an adventure.Inside are many descriptive photographs and detailed explanations. Each plant has an interesting introduction based on the author’s knowledge and experience with it. So this is an excellent book for someone just starting out. Yet there was plenty of information I didn’t know.I’ve tried three recipes so far (wild plants are seasonal and variable, so it would take a while to work through all the recipes) and they were so much better than “sauté/steam greens, add salt/pepper and butter and enjoy” (I’ve done a lot of that:).The cookbook is solidly bound with a washable cover, which is a good touch. I’m beyond pleased with this cookbook and find it a real addition to my cooking library.

I love the author's suggestions for vegetation to forage and his tips and recipes on how to use them.The photos are helpful for identification. This is a very useful book for a new culinary and nutritional food adventure.

Great recipes for foraging.

This was a really interesting and informative book.

I own over a hundred foraging and wild foods books, but am very glad I added this one. Mr. Bergo doesn’t choose foods for inclusion purely because they’re edible, but also because they’re delicious. For example, the greens cakes are a wonderful way to make a substantial meal out of green leaves, and his recipe is the best of its kind that I have tried. Many books talk enthusiastically about eating sunflower leaves, leading me to believe that the author never actually tasted them and got this information from some other author who never tasted them. Bergo states promptly that the leaves are edible but very strong-flavored, and goes on to use them as an outer wrapping and then gives a full treatment of the really tasty part, the buds. This book is the work of a chef who knows his flavors.The illustrations are also lovely and deserve a mention.I know that often glowing reviews of new books are provided by the author’s friends. I definitely do not know Mr. Bergo, but this book makes me wish very much that I did.

If foraging edible plants is an alien concept, Alan Bergo’s careful years of studying, identifying, and culinary experimenting will have you looking at plants differently on your next walk. As a mushroom forager, I’ve never felt confident with identifying and incorporating common, wild edible herbs, plants, and flowers into my prepared meals. Who knew milkweed pods were edible? His lengthy and most importantly, thorough introduction to milkweed left me feeling confident with the possibility of turning this common and abundant “weed” into a foraged and fancy meal. His words come from a place of comfort. Unpretentious.Photos are stunning with clear explanations for most novice explorers out on a walk for something to brighten up their everyday meals.After recreating just three of his beautiful recipes, my palate longs for more! Plants I’ve overlooked have now become delicious additions for my friends and family to “ooh” and “ahhh” over. I can’t recommend it more. In fact, I purchased an extra copy to share.Reading through this book feels like a long walk through a green pasture or wooded park with a friend who just wants to share with you all that they know so you can try them too.There comes a simple joy in foraging free food and turning it into something, confidently, five-star fancy!… and honestly, who doesn’t want that?

What a great book to own. It is just amazing how many plants in our own backyard that you can eat. With this book you have a variety of recipes to try. If you want to live off the land or just want to try different things this is the book to have. I have purchase the book to give as a gift for other people. It's a must have!

Not only full of amazing recipes, this wonderful book is a well written and informative read for the foodie and the forager alike. I especially appreciate that Bergo includes commonly found substitutes for many of the wild ingredients, making it accessible for those who don’t have access to safe foraging. I’ve already made a few of the recipes and can’t wait to do more! Bonus: the beautiful photos!

I've been wanting to buy this book for a while now but had trouble finding it at a decent price in the U.K. As an avid reader of the forager chef blog I couldn't wait to get to see what new and exciting recipes were included in the book. Now, the truth is there isn't THAT much more content than what you'll find on the free blog but the book itself is not only stunning it is laid out in a super informative way and offers lots of alternatives.It is NOT for the foraging novices or begginers and you have to be open to a certain degree of flexibility but for me it is PERFECT. I love it and have spent hours perusing it and deciding on all the incredible things to make this year.

In this book the versed cook will find new suggestions how to think in a different direction towards cooking. I also follow Chef Bergo on his blog and I can say of him that he is a very well read person with a broad fundus of knowledge!And to get a glimpse of that fundus of knowledge you have to study this book - it's not a book you just open and start cooking because many of the ingredients used you have to get with your own hands! You have to dive into it and let it inspire you!This book is for ambitious cooks and people that are full-heartedly interested in cooking!And it's especially for people that want to get a special or new taste on their palate.The recipes are simple to make - so it's not rocket science - but you have to bring with you the needed time and dedication.This book is really a masterpiece of its own! Every self-respecting chef or connoisseur of taste should own this book and get inspired!I had waited a long time before finally being able to buy it - I couldn't wait for this book to be released!Thank's so much for this masterpiece - please go on with your work and inspire us!

You will use this book. I have been a home cook my whole life and a forager for at least the last five years. I’ve bought many books on the subject of foraging and most of them, while nice are sitting on my bookshelf. This book won’t be one of them. The first flip through I’ve already marked half a dozen things I’m going to try, and I add a few more to the list every time I sit down and read a section. The sections are chapters that indicate how an ingredient is to be used rather than by common name or Latin binomial. This is the first time I’ve seen this and I hope future books on the subject do the same. It’s very helpful. Bergo suggests to consider the book one part instruction and one part inspiration and his recipes reflect this. I can’t find some of the plants he uses in my area, but because of his excellent explanation of its purpose in the dish, and of course the way the book is laid out I can easily use plants that are available to me locally. The photographs are stunning and not only helpful but are also artistic.As I write this I’m letting a brown sugar syrup cool before I add wintergreen I foraged yesterday to make a mugolio. If you are a forager or are interested in foraging you will use this book.I’ve heard the author on a podcast mention that he plans on two more books. One on Fungi and one on Fauna and I look forward to both of these.

I was so excited when this cookbook finally arrived in my mailbox. As a nerdy forager/mycophile I’ve loved the author’s blog for years, and this book has a place of honour on my shelf! I’m gleeful when I can introduce family and friends to wild foraged foods, prepared with elegance and packed with flavour. Alan is clearly passionate about his craft, and that spills out into pages full of so much more than just recipes. Learn about what you’re eating, and then enjoy every morsel. ♥️