“I got used to being almost unable to survive” (Image: PA Real Life)

Do you want to learn how to make authentic gourmet food without forking the ingredients?

Jona Fraser, 40, started foraging as a chubby student and is now a mother of three, a professional food instructor, and still cooks her own picks.

Growing up in Brighton, East Sussex, with his mother Liz Walker (70) and father Angus Fraser (76), Jonah learned how to find food from his father on a weekend trip.

“My dad had a game restaurant that worked as a chef and sold bushmeat,” he said.

On the weekends, he took us around the Ditchland Beacon area where we lived and showed us how to pick Iraqis without any headaches. I hiccuped for hours at night.

When he left home and entered sixth form, he was living on benefits at the age of 16, but was forced to spend just £7 a week after tax.

Jonah is an expert in mycology-fungal research (collection / PA real life)

Jonah is an expert in mycology-fungal research (image: PA real life)

“I’m used to barely being alive,” Jonah said. “At that point, I began to realize that choosing more interesting items could complement the basic items I was buying for a small amount of money.

I bought peppercorns, grains, and beans, went out, and picked herbs and herbs like sorrel, dill, and chives to make a vibrant, colorful, entertaining, and delicious dish.

Later, after enrolling at Brighton College to study social sciences, Jona had to drop out when she became pregnant with her 20-year-old son Steel Fraser at the age of 19.

Jona’s Cake, Lime, Wild Mint Forest Floor Cake, Nettle and Wild Mint Moss (Image: PA Real Life)

Despite finding a job, it was difficult to achieve his goals as a single father and Jonah realized that he was still looking for food.

“Soon after my son was born, I started enjoying the outdoors again, probably because I had to get out of the house and go outside naturally,” she said.

I worked for telesales, but as a single mom with rent and bills, it was tough.

Every day, I would walk through farms and towns for an hour and a half, picking up things as I walked.

“I fermented wine to make beer and cooked dishes like hawthorn ketchup and great spices for marinades.

After moving to a village near Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, Jonah soon became fascinated with identifying a variety of fungi and mushrooms, which eventually led to a career as a foraging instructor and in 2012 he launched Ashdown Forage, a business.

Jona Fraser eats with her youngest son, Avery.  There are currently 3 people (Collect / PA Real Life)

Jonah’s two young children, Alexei and Sami, 7, are brought to Avery as they forage for food together (Picture: PA Real Life)

Now it teaches people skills from foraging and plant identification to a full leaf and feast experience.

He believes that foraging shouldn’t be “recommended as a solution to the cost-of-living crisis,” but Jonah helps people learn to find rather than buy food if they have enough time. I think I can do it.

“In the short term, if you have enough time, it can be a really very useful tool,” he said.

“If you have time but little money, you can identify wild foods and research the storage, drying, dehydration and prolonging of mushroom-like foods.”

For those who fall for it, Jonah stresses that it’s important to know which plants are safe to eat and how to identify and avoid toxic plants.

He says that the addiction team, which is an emergency service for possible addiction cases, is also important.

Meanwhile, Jonah wants to encourage everyone to find food.

“Everyone can learn to identify some edible plants,” he added. “It’s something we can all try and get a lot of joy from.”


How to start looking for food

  • Read about foraging and identification.
  • Start by choosing the first food you find, such as easily identifiable wildflowers or elderberries.
  • Seek advice from people who trust the foraging/foraging group, such as the foraging and folklore Facebook page.
  • Find books to help you find and identify foods.
  • You’re looking for the right spot because you know what habitat the herbs and plants you’re looking for grow in.
  • Don’t use AIID apps that are not always trustworthy
  • Learn about the most toxic plants, including the Umbelliferae family, which contains two of the deadliest plants.
  • Understand how widespread the plant you are choosing is and how its foraging affects it, for example picking a single leaf of wild garlic can kill the entire plant.
  • Make sure the environment is safe before looking for food
  • Find out if the land you are looking for uses pesticides
  • Learn about foraging

Jona Fraser, nutrition instructor

Have a story to share?

Please contact us by email.