Herbs
Herbs
Herbs
The H&W story
Founder, Hannah, began Herbs & Wild as a supper club while working as a chef at The Ethicurean, a walled-garden restaurant near Bristol. The reason for doing this was to create something of her own and to directly share what she is passionate about.
After graduating from Durham university with a degree in Biology and Psychology, Hannah trained at Ballymaloe Cookery School, Ireland, which she chose for its focus on using locally produced, seasonal and high welfare ingredients. It was there that she discovered and became fascinated by Sourdough baking, Foraging & Fermentation. This was further developed while working at The Ethicurean.
The supper club quickly expanded to events in multiple locations - Bristol, Hampshire and London. Cookery workshops and private catering were soon added to the offering. Hannah also spent time recipe developing, working with food photographers, leading foraging tours and collaborating with like minded people.
After a year of freelancing, the opportunity to run a café in Wilton arose, which opened in July 2020.
The H&W Way
Herbs and Wild aims to deepen the connection between people and the food on their plate.
The traceability of ingredients is at the heart of H&W - Sourcing what is available in the UK, grown by local farmers and foraged from nature’s pantry enables us to appreciate the changing seasons, work with ingredients at their peak in flavour and nutrient density and cultivate a more sustainable food system and local food economy.
Cooking in this way limits our choice of ingredients but it encourages us to get out in nature and gather wild-edibles and perhaps grow some herbs of our own. Both doings can be so pleasurable and rewarding, do wonders for our well-being, and result in the creation of unusual, vibrant dishes.
‘Wild’ also refers to our interest in the cultivation of wild bacteria and yeasts to transform raw ingredients into products infinitely more complex, flavourful and digestible to us, which benefit the health of our guts. Take sourdough, for one, made from just flour, water, salt and starter culture.
