Forage & Feast

LAUREN MCSHANE joins wild food forager and educator, Roushanna Gray, founder of Veld and Sea in Cape Point, to forage for wild food in preparation for a delicious feast.

- Lauren Mcshane

As we strive to eat more healthily and live sustainably within cities, there is a need to look beyond ordinary grocery stores and return to growing and gathering wild food. Roushanna’s smallholding is an edible landscape and an excellent foraging opportunity.

(Always ask permission from landowners before foraging on private land and see below for South Africa’s strict laws on picking plants and why you should grow your own).“Only pick what you need ... you never know who’s visited before you and who will come afterwards, so pick a little sprig before moving onto the next plant,” advises Roushanna Gray, founder of Veld and Sea in Cape Point, before we embark on our foraging excursion.

I’m seated in a rustic cabin crammed with earthy treasures, each one paying homage to Roushanna’s insatiable passion for discovering fresh wild food flavours and sharing indigenous plant recipes in her workshops. Tiny seeds, sun-dried blooms, chillies, shells, herbs and delicate bowls adorn the shelves along the walls. Syrups, juices and other delightful taste infusions line the table.

Veld and Sea’s roots stem from the tea garden Roushanna opened at the Good Hope nursery where she started teaching children about foraging and introduced wild flavours to the menu.