This episode is a conversation with Nick of North, a wild food chef, forager, and educator from Prince Edward Island who works at the intersection of cooking, ecology, and landscape literacy. Nick has built a unique career teaching chefs how to understand the landscapes around them and translate wild ingredients into meaningful food. His work focuses on flavor, aromatics, fermentation, and developing a deeper relationship with the land through cooking.

In this conversation, we explore Nick’s journey from working as a line cook in restaurants to becoming a forager who now teaches chefs around the world how to work with wild ingredients. We also dive into how landscape literacy can transform the way we cook, why many wild foods are misunderstood, and how learning to work with flavor, aroma, and seasonal timing can unlock entirely new possibilities in the kitchen.

Episode Overview:

• How wild ingredients often enter restaurant kitchens — and the surprising problems chefs face when working with them
• What landscape literacy actually means and why learning to read ecosystems changes the way you cook
• Why understanding the environments plants grow in can make you a better forager and a more attentive cook
• Nick’s method for learning plant identification by studying ecosystems instead of relying entirely on field guides
• Why wild greens taste bitter — and how harvest timing and time of day can dramatically change flavor
• How chefs can use wild aromatics, herbs, and plant materials to elevate dishes beyond basic ingredients
• Creative ways to extract wild flavors into oils, vinegars, fats, and other cooking mediums
• How plants like oak leaves can be used to add tannins for better pickling and food preservation
• Why trusting your senses is one of the most important skills when fermenting and preserving food
• The fear many beginners have about poisonous plants — and how learning just a few dangerous species can unlock confident foraging
• How the same wild plant can taste completely different depending on where it grows
• Why understanding plant families helps chefs cook unfamiliar wild foods more confidently
• Why becoming a great forager is a lifelong process of learning, observation, and patience

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MY ULTIMATE FORAGING GEAR LIST - Check it out

Leave a review on Apple or Spotify and send a screenshot to theyearofplenty@gmail.com to receive a FREE EBOOK with my favorite food preservation recipes.

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This episode is a conversation with Hank Shaw, wild food chef, author, and the voice behind Hunter Angler Gardener Cook. Hank has spent decades hunting, fishing, foraging, and writing about wild ingredients, and his newest book, Borderlands, explores the rich food traditions stretching from the Rio Grande to the Pacific.

Episode Overview:

• How did Hank Shaw go from political journalist to James Beard nominated wild food authority, and what pushed him to go all-in on hunting, fishing, and foraging
• What does food sovereignty really mean in practice, and why does cutting out the middleman change how we relate to land, habitat, and wild places?
• What exactly are the Borderlands, and why is this region between the United States and Mexico one of the most culturally rich and misunderstood food landscapes in North America?
• What are the defining wild proteins of the Borderlands, from venison and quail to javelina and jackrabbit, and how are they traditionally prepared?
• Why is seafood king in parts of the Borderlands, and what makes Gulf snook, smoked marlin, shellfish, and Baja style cooking so unique?
• What are quelites, and which wild greens and indigenous food traditions still shape Borderlands cuisine today?
• How do fire, mesquite coals, pit cooking, and slow grilling define Borderlands flavor?
• What traditional preservation methods still matter in hot, dry climates, including salting wild chilies, drying and smoking meats, and burying ingredients in salt or sugar?
• Which mushrooms can foragers find in the Borderlands during monsoon season, from porcini and lobster mushrooms to chanterelles and regional Amanitas?

Use code “yearofplenty” for 15% OFF at www.mtblock.com

MY ULTIMATE FORAGING GEAR LIST - Check it out

Leave a review on Apple or Spotify and send a screenshot to theyearofplenty@gmail.com to receive a FREE EBOOK with my favorite food preservation recipes.

Watch the Video Episode on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/live/WOqNe8ut90M?si=4fziqCsltuGbtiEA

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This episode is a conversation with Robin Greenfield, activist, forager, and author of Food Freedom. Robin has spent years experimenting with what it means to step outside the industrial food system, first by growing and foraging all of his food for a year, and now by eating only wild food. In this conversation, we explore what food freedom actually looks like in practice, the role of community, and why food sits at the center of ecological and personal resilience.

Episode Overview:

• Robin’s background and journey away from the industrial food system
• Why food became the central focus of his activism and life experiments
• What “food freedom” meant during his year of growing and foraging all of his food
• The real challenges of food freedom, including time, processing, and preservation
• Why community support is essential for living closer to the land
• What motivated Robin to take the next step and eat only wild food for an entire year
• How he plans calories, protein, fat, and nutrients on a wild food diet
• Key wild food staples including wild rice, venison, fish, nuts, fruits, greens, and herbs
• The hardest parts of eating wild food, including fat scarcity and food storage mistakes
• How seasonality and travel shape his wild food strategy
• Ethical foraging and reciprocity, including harvesting invasive species
• Why learning individual plants matters more than following blanket foraging rules
• How foraging can deepen connection, purpose, and gratitude for the natural world
• Practical advice for beginner foragers who want to start building food resilience

Use code “yearofplenty” for 15% OFF at www.mtblock.com

MY ULTIMATE FORAGING GEAR LIST - Check it out

Leave a review on Apple or Spotify and send a screenshot to theyearofplenty@gmail.com to receive a FREE EBOOK with my favorite food preservation recipes.

Watch the Video Episode on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/live/UJ97dq8yVM0?si=huhuFqMRf7BkSs54

Sign up for the newsletter:
www.theyearofplenty.com/newsletter

Support the podcast via Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/yearofplenty

Subscribe to the Youtube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@yearofplentyvideo

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