Forager and wild food expert Mark Lloyd joins The Edible Garden Show 2014
Foraging has never been trendier and there is so much more you can do than pick blackberries at the side of the road.
Cook, forager and wild food expert Mark Lloyd is joining the superb line-up of celebrity speakers at The Edible Garden Show and will be revealing the gourmet delights of the natural world.
Renowned for his extensive knowledge of nature's bounty and where to find it, Mark has over 15 years' experience in professional kitchens, from city centre brasserie to country estate hotel and corporate venues. But it was living as a youngster on a farm in Northumberland that sparked his passion for fishing, shooting and foraging.
Mark says: "Food was always around when I was growing up. Both of my parents cooked and dinner was eaten together at the table. The farm was next to the River Tweed which at the time was one of the best for salmon and we had rights to fish it, so I was sent off with some sandwiches and often spent the day fishing.
"I would see what was growing along the riverbank, and speak to the gillies going up and down the river. I wanted to be a gamekeeper."
As an adult, the chance of a cheap holiday with a friend who was working as a chef in Spain introduced Mark to the idea of cooking for a living, after he was asked to help out with the preparation one night and stayed for four years.
Mark says: "My style of cooking isn't something I've trained in, it's the way we ate on the farm. Why walk past the very thing you want just to go and buy it from a supermarket? I am really looking forward to bringing this knowledge, which was never lost in Spain or Italy or France, to The Edible Garden Show."
Mark will join a mouth-watering line-up of celebrity chefs and gardeners, animal experts and a huge number of exciting exhibitors, all keen to share their knowledge to support visitors in their quest for a slice of 'The Good Life'.
Following three highly successful years at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire, The Edible Garden Shows is set to engage new audiences from its new home at London's Alexandra Palace.
Held over three days from March 28th -30th, this buzzing event is packed with talks, interactive sessions and cookery demonstrations.
TV botanist and 'Homegrown Revolution' author James Wong returns to continue his campaign to get more people growing exotic fruit and veg in their back gardens and allotment plots, while the BBC One Show's gardening guru Christine Walken joins the Experts' Panel to answer your horticultural conundrums.
Learn how to raise chickens or keep bees, restock your garden with plants or seek solutions to your grow-your-own woes. It's a one-stop shop for all your self-sufficiency needs.
Tickets cost £16 (£12 in advance) with concessions for children and the elderly. Call the ticket hotline on 0844 338 8001 or visit www.theediblegardenshow.co.uk