With more than 75 naturally occurring plants, 24 types of berries and 31 varieties of edible mushrooms, the Maritimes are overflowing with tasty wild treats.
Wild Food, a half-hour documentary set to air on CBC TV's Land and Sea on Sunday at noon, showcases the abundance of delicious, nutritious and organic food that's growing in the forests and meadows around the Maritimes and the foraging enthusiasts who are keeping the tradition alive by introducing it to a new generation.
The film features Stephen Marshall of Millbrook, who forages as a part of a traditional way of life, a New Brunswick man who harvests fiddleheads and mushrooms to ship to markets around the world, and a chef near Yarmouth who offers award-winning culinary vacations and turns foraged food into haute cuisine. These experienced foragers are not only earning a living from wild edibles, they're passionate about sharing the art of wild food foraging with anyone that's interested.
Wild Food was written and directed by award-winning Halifax filmmaker Lorna Kirk (A Little Bit of Freedom/Nova Scotia Islands) and produced by Edward Peill from Halifax-based Tell Tale Productions Inc.
"The foragers we met and talked to while filming are the gurus of wild food in the Maritimes," said writer/director Kirk, in a news release. "There's an abundance of wild food in our forests but you really need to know what you're doing. Most are safe to eat, but there are others that can kill you so you need to be careful."
Following the broadcast, the documentary can be watched on the CBC TV website at www.cbc.ca/landandsea.
