MAY 2024 : I thought I'd drop you a line to thank you for the fantastic Sheerness foraging walk on Saturday. It was great; very informative and enlightening. My wife and I came over from Whitstable and we have already spotted various plants on our local beach that we hope to incorporate into salads, pies, risottos etc. In fact, later on we will be baking a butter-bean tart containing some of your delicious-looking sea kale, so thanks! Have a great summer, all the best, MARTIN BARBOUR

Hi Lucia Thank you for such a delightful day last Sunday. We all enjoyed it so much. Please pass on our thanks to Eva and Lee too.h ave once gain had a busy week at work. However, I did manage to make some wild garlic humous, wild garlic pesto and crispy seaweed the other day. Steve and I also picked some nettles on Putney Common. Those I turned into nettle soup. All went down very well at our Easter meal today. All the best Lynda

Sept 23 : Eddie and I had such a fantastic time! I've given you a follow on Instagram too so I'll find out about future events you run.   All the best Carole

Sept 2023 Hi Lucia, Thank you so much for the foraging experience. We loved learning about wild shellfish and seaweed. I was ill when I ate oysters in the restaurant before so was a tad worried. But actually these were safe and delicious. Thanks, Francis

Aug 2023 Message: Hi Lucia Just had to say that the foraging trip today guided by you surpassed all expectations. I know this area well and do regular coastal walks but did not have a clue about what I was walking past. As a lover of the coast it was amazing, as an enthusiast of cooking and preserving it was super amazing.The lunch was superb and so expertly served by the knowledgeable team. Loved the Sea Buckthorn Gin….any chance you could give me a hint as to having a go with my haul ?See you again Sue Fenwick

Kasia Zo It was one of the best experiences I've signed up for. Thanks for everyone who made it happen, lots of knowledge and great company. April 2023

Laylay Kazim @thecutlerychronicles BBC (Masterchef Food Critic) "to the Kent coast to beautiful Deal for a Seashore & Coastal Path foraging experience with @luciathewildkitchen and I could not have enjoyed it more. Because Lucia is wonderful and knowledgeable and I found it all so fascinating. ... lunch in a secret woodland clearing for a glorious array of dishes made by Lucia and her foraged delights including a sea beet and wild fennel cream tartlet with spring flower and leaf salad and elderberry drizzle and botanical cocktails. Accompanied by a very friendly robin. It was just so very exhilarating to be outdoors, under the sunshine, getting battered by sea winds, meeting cool new people, learning cool new things. What a day.’” May 2021

… I’ve never seen us so excited by a day before, thank you! We should have brought notebooks there was so much we learned. Christine and I would love to know how you make the chocolate seaweed you served us please.Until next time …. M

What a great day we had today, thank you so much, we thoroughly enjoyed the whole event, the oyster and mussel foraging in lovely morning sun, the wonderful surprise picnic and adventure through the XX. And the delicious meal at yours, we were impressed by such detail and care you had gone to and felt lucky to have done it with such a nice bunch of people. THANK YOU Paul and Jo x OCT 2022 Dear Lucia, We just wanted to write you a wee note to say a very big thank you for a completely fabulous day yesterday.

It was so fascinating, and a wonderful spot, full of abundance - and an absolutely delicious picnic! You are very brilliant and knowledgeable and inspiring, and the team were a delight too - please pass our thanks on to Jen and Paul, and the picnic gang. We hugely enjoyed chatting to your other guests, too.

We learned a lot, and will certainly be back to harvest more of nature's bounty! We had some sea blite with our steamed new pots last night, and are planning to have some samphire with our tomatoes in a salad tonight - bliss!

Hope you had a lovely rest of your weekend, and keep cool in the coming heat. We will certainly spread the word about The Wild Kitchen, and perhaps - hopefully! - even see you again on another of your fantastic foraging days. With many thanks once again, Ollie and Steven x Sept 2022


Hello Lucia, I came to your foraging day on 4th July with my sister Vicki which we both loved. It was inspirational, the company was great and the lunch was absolutely delicious. 

I wanted to book my daughter Natasha in for a day for her birthday. She is a chef and would love to learn more about using foraged foods etc. She will be coming from London and spending the weekend with us. It may be that she would prefer to do a seaside one, I will find out. Look forward to hearing from you. Best wishes,Catherine Carson July 2022

A great day yesterday Lucia. Amazing what you can easily miss on the beach. Food was delicious.Regards, Stewart & Barbara x “ July 2022

It's been a magical afternoon and the best way to discover the region. Coralie Grassin Teatime in Wonderland

Thank you, Lucia - it’s fair to say that each one of the three of us had a lovely and memorable day. Roger Sinclair July 2022

Good morning, Lucia! Thank you SO much for yesterday. It was so perfect - exactly what I hoped it would be. You really made the whole day feel very special, and of course it was a total learning curve as well and we came home with such a wonderful bounty.  The cake really was a treat, thank you also so much for doing that. It was delicious. Thank you again for making it a terrific birthday for Farida, and a wonderful day out for me. Rich  Rich www.richpreston.co.uk

It was honestly the best day! Learning about all the sea weeds and wild herbs, seeing the beautiful scenery around Deal and your wonderful informative and friendly manner made it all super! It was brilliant how you made it such a good day for people from different generations and even for Teddy who had absolutely a ball frolicking in the meadow and foraging seaweed! The cherry on the cake was of course the wonderful meal! Every course was spectacular but the cocktails, the sea buckthorn harissa and the nettle oat cakes were absolutely divine. Looking forward to you writing your book so o can learn to recreate them. Best, Shruti  Oct 19th 2021

Hello Lucia, Well, that was really great.  Su and I enjoyed the morning a lot and we certainly learnt some new things. We took enough away to have lunch the next day, make some stockand roast some truffle seaweed. Thanks a lot and will recommend you if the opportunity arises. All the best Rick (Sareen)  October 2021

Just wanted to say thank you for the foraging lesson yesterday, it was fun as well as interesting and thank you to the team for the delicious lunch.  I am pleased to say that I have managed to turn my Serrated Wrack successfully into crisps. I did not take a note of the books you had on display, so I was wondering if you can recommend some books on foraging  and foraging based recipes? Kind regards, Graham July 2021

LUCIA!!!  Sorry to be slow, my day has been full of zooming... Very different to yesterday. It was such a fantastic day. We absolutely LOVED it,a real triumph. Thank you for all your amazing work and effort for us. I would like to send you a card and some drinks, what's the best address for you? Amy Thorne (Taste PR) May 2021 Edible Seashore


What a fab time today was! I knew I'd enjoy myself but it was even better than I expected and great value for money. The beach picnic was scrummy and beautifully presented. I'm seriously thinking of purchasing a dehydrator, so if you could remind of the type you'd recommend I'd be very grateful. I've also ordered a couple of the books you showed us. Thank you for your enthusiastic and extremely informative time. Joan x (April 18th 2021)


To cheer myself up I have just booked myself, and this time my husband Iain, onto one of your wild foraging days. I had a lovely time with you last summer on bicycles at Minnie Bay collecting oysters.This year I am planning to cultivate weeds in my garden and am reading a book about this currently.  So I will look forward to learning more about foraging with you. Till then, best wishes, Bridget" Jan 2021


Lucia, I hope is all ok with you in these difficult times. I would like to buy Christine my wife a Foraging day for Xmas, as she enjoyed the last one I bought for her before.  Could you advise if this would be possible, so she can use it next year sometime please?" (Keith 2020.)


It was such fun and I learned a lot.  The lunch was absolutely  delicious.  I can’t wait to do it again,  please do, let me know if you are planning another day. Cycling, sunshine, great food, ideas for the future and lovely warm people.I cooked the foraged potatoes tonight with olive oil and the wild rocket, it was great.  Tomorrow I am going to pick some sea buckthorn to make juice.

All of the group had a wonderful time on the foraging day. I believe Rich & Lauren conjured up a pesto pasta with some of the ingredients they took back as well. It was a great day out & we really appreciated the efforts you went to to make it special. All the best, Ben  (August 2020)

We had a great day and loved your food! Thanks again. August 2020 (Sean)


Hi Lucia, I wanted to thank you for such a special day, we were all talking about it non stop over the holidays, everyone had such a wonderful time topped with a superb meal, it was such a unique experience, having lunch, at Christmas, in such a Victorian setting, never to be forgotten. I’d just like to also share a little video of our time with you and again thank you for such a wonderful time.  I also have some wild spinach and cabbage in my fridge as I write; I’ll definitely be signing up for more time with you and wish you all the best for 2020. Love, Louise  (Jan 2019)

It seemed like a weeks holiday rolled into a long afternoon, with the most fantastic rolling banquet. 

Daniel (Quo Vadis Restaurant Group)

Hi Lucia, mom and I so enjoyed last week, mom said it was so perfect she 'thought her heart would burst'....how lovely eh?( Ashlie Love)

Thank you so much for The Wild Kitchen Experience, we all loved it, you all worked so hard to ensure we all had a wonderful time, the food was gorgeous, you were all such lovely, interesting people and knowledgeable. Best regards, Debbie (Lipman-Collins) JAN 2018

I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the feast and beach foraging on Thursday. We cooked all the shellfish & seaweed last night and shared it with friends.  When you have next summer’s timetable please forward it to me as I would be interested in attending again. Many thanks to you and Josh for a fun & interesting day. Nicky (Reay) Oct'19

Thank you again for a wonderful morning - we so enjoyed learning about foraging (we are all inspired! The meal was absolutely delicious and the entire experience was a delight. Caroline”(& family) April 2019

We had a lovely time, thank you. I was amazed by how you'd combined all the foraged items into a really wonderful menu - bravo! Lovely to meet you.  Joe Pitts-cunningham. May 2018

Thanks so much for a really interesting and genuinely inspiring course on Saturday. I already have some wild garlic pesto made and have tried to crystallise the Alexander. 2 quick questions; you  mentioned a book that was worth getting, bit I cannot remember the name nor the author. Could you please remind me? Secondly ..... and possibly more mportant....how do you make fennel vodka?! Thanks again for great start to the spring. Peter Innes (March 2019)

HI Lucia, thank you so much for our interesting and tasty seaweed afternoon, had a great time really enjoyed. You have so much information to pass on that I was totally mesmerised! Important too, on subjects that I have never ever touched on - only know vegetable gardening. .. Stella Pascalle

 Hi Lucia,  I hope Bernie told you yesterday how much we all enjoyed our day on Saturday. We loved eating our foraged mussels and oysters and I made the most delicious horseradish sauce for our beef wellington for dinner.best wishes, oJanna Thomson October 2018

I just wanted to drop you a line to thank you again for such wonderful day. I learnt such a lot and really appreciated your enthusiasm and knowledge. Thank you also for one of the most fantastic meals I've had in years. My personal favourites were the nettle soup, chick pea salad and elderflower cream. I also adored the oak leaf volka! I returned home to make my seaweed crisps, marjoram chicken, fennel potato salad and sea cabbage, all of which were delicious. Please do let me know if you are planning any future kitchen suppers. I would love to continue our conversation about foraging and sustainable eating. With warmest regards.Sue

Thank you for a lovely day on Saturday. I learnt so much and the food was delicious. Could you please send me the recipes for the desert and the lavender lemonade'. (Lia) 

Hi Lucia, Just a quick email to say thank you so much for working so hard to help make Anna's hen do weekend such a success. We had a lovely time foraging with you, Nick and Giles and really enjoyed our lunch and cocktails served by Tracy too. The lovely decorations didn't go unnoticed either! Full steam ahead to the wedding in June now! Thanks once again and please do pass on our thanks to the others. With very best wishes, Alison" April 2018

"I know I speak for all of our guys when I say we bloody loved it too. We'll definitely be recommending your foraging tours to friends and industry people! (Andy, Climpson & Sons, London)

Sarah and I both had a really fun and enjoyable day on the Spring Leaves Wild Forage. The format of the day was excellent and the two sites chosen for foraging were beautiful. Thank you for the brilliant cooking; it was really great to be able to sample some of the items we foraged for. We enjoyed your company and that of our fellow foragers! Perhaps see you on another forage in the future and we hope the Wild Kitchen is really successful!"

Thank you so much Lucia. Marie and I had such a wonderful time and have been telling all our friends. I think my mum wants to do a day now and also a few friends so I have passed on your details! I cooked seaweed pizza (totally yummy), seaweed buns, seaweed fritters and seaweed crisps (I stored some and it's delicious- both types: the light green one and the purplish one). Everyone very impressed.” Leo Boix

Thank you for making our Sunday such fun, Stan and I found the day really interesting and informative and the lunch and cocktails were brilliant! Best wishes Sally

Thank you for the opportunity to spend the afternoon with you and the rest of the guests on the beach. It was a really lovely way to spend time and was so exciting to be able to explore the shore line for shell fish and other treats. Will certainly recommend to others and maybe will see you on the beach when I venture out on my own as a forager. Regards, Matthew Tyrrell

Thank you very much to you and your team for a delicious lunch yesterday. Dave and I thoroughly enjoyed our day with you.I found myself looking in the hedgerows in a different light on my dog walk this morning! Best Wishes Julie.

Thank you so much for your foraging talk on Monday. The members were delighted with it and felt we'd learnt lots. We enjoyed the samples at the end as well. Thank you a great success. We talked about the seaweed forage and there was lots of interest  (Sue Lamoon, Kingsdown Gardening Society)

The day was beautiful and I have enjoyed it to the Max. Hopefully i can join again for one of your trips soon. All the very best. (Johannes Aug 2015)

A huge thank you from us here at Quo Vadis for such a wonderful day out yesterday. It was so interesting, educational, fun & delicious and I feel sure that everyone had a wonderful day. Ellie.

Dear Lucia Thank you for a wonderful forage and such excellent cooking. I had some wilted sea aster last night which I did instead of spinach and it was wonderful. Kim.


Many thanks for yesterday and providing such lovely food and hospitality. Both Dan and myself were very impressed with your knowledge and skills, so well done you. I am going to cook tonight a samphire risotto together with blite fritters for my veggie wife and daughter and possibly throw in some shrimps for the non veggies. I shall convert them over to sea shore veg for sure. It does now however mean that I have to hunt out and make more trips to the seaside to get my materials--- that cannot be a bad thing even if I do live in the furthest town from the coast. It will make me the only seashore forager in the village. Regards, Paul.

Thanks for the menu and thanks again for Saturday we had a truly amazing time. Oysters for breakfast yesterday and then our body weight in mussels for dinner! All the best, Catlin & Max xx


Dear Lucia, Thanks again for putting together a wonderful programme for us. it was very educational and I am positive that some of the other gentlemen who are based in the South East will promote the wild kitchen among church friends. Everybody returned home with good memories. 

Thank you for an excellent afternoon on the beach. I needed convincing the plants of the sea were edible and delicious!  You succeeded and I now have the confidence to use seaweed in my cooking. It was a lovely group of people on the forage which was fun. Extra special to carry on discussing the topic over a leisurely lavish tea. 

I just wanted to say on behalf of myself and the other hens a massive thank you! We had such a memorable day - yourself and Giles made it extra, extra special and we loved every minute of it. It was such a special setting and the weather held out for us too - and the OYSTERS!!!

Thank you for a truly wonderful day. Foraging on the ancient meadow is something I shall never forget. Looking down and realising that these tiny treasures are by our feet. I don't know what I expected of the day really, but it was so much more than I could have hoped for. Thank you. On that happy note could I book 2 people onto the 18 July please? (Shelley Owers).

Thank you for the wonderful and magical day we spent with you on saturday. Your cooking is ever delicious and inspiring and I know we all really enjoyed ourselves. Looking forward to seeing you in August and the Sea Buckthorn Day when I know we will have further adventures. Valerie Kernick


Thank you for another wonderful foraging day and a delicious lunch. The seaweed has been such a success, I dried some in the oven using the same method that I use for meringues by putting them in a medium hot oven for about 10 minutes and then turning down the heat to 80C, whilstkeeping a close eye in things. It has worked a treat. I pickled some seaweed with ginger as well, It looks beautiful and I hope it will taste as good.

We had a great time Lucia. Really fantastic. Kids enjoyed it as well which is always a bonus. The oysters were delicious. Had them with some shallots and vinegar. Sam cooked hers into a steak and oyster pie which sounds delicious. Can't believe Julian found 3 pearls!! What an amazing find. Mark Sawyer, April.

On Monday I made an journey down to Deal in Kent, to attend a wild food foraging workshop with Lucia Stuart of The Wild Kitchen. She took us onto a wild and blustery beach were she showed us jewel-like seaweeds which can be eaten either raw or cooked. Then we investigated absolutely delicious foods like sea-purslane which tasted like capers - right off the bush! We collected wild marshmallow and sea beet which Lucia told us was brought to our shores by the enterprising Romans. Later, we went back to Lucia's rather fabulous house and had a Mad Hatters Tea Party with mallow and eggs, sea-weed bread rolls, divine cooked sea-beet, lavender scones with elderflower and rhubard jam, and much much more. Lucia runs regular workshops from The Wild Kitchen, and they are great fun. You leave feeling very full and satisfied with the surprising deliciousness of wild foods foraged for free! Jo Dunbar(Botanicamedica.co.uk)

Lucia Thank you for such a lovely day. I learnt such a lot and was blown away by the amount of wild seafood on offer. The group were lovely and I felt we all gelled and this added to the enjoyment of the day. A really nice group of people. The discovery of pearls in my oyster was an added bonus and something I didn't expect. Quite surreal. The kind of things ones dreams are made of. I actually found three more very small pearls in the oysters I opened at home. I ate all the oysters raw as I opened them and cooked the mussels the way you suggested. I have dried the seaweed and have yet to try any. I will take a picture of the pearls soon and email you a copy. (Suzanne Earl)



Dear Lucia, Truly wonderful experience yesterday, thank you, I am still buzzing!! After posted it on facebook and it looks like one friend might be joining next time. Been sorting, picking, washing my berries, leaves, etc. Even made a dish for my husband last night using some of the ingredients…in a pre meal digestive. The leaves are great in salad as you probably know.  

Well vases and pots filled x taste buds full ... Note book exploding and new friends made x Thank you x A wonderful day x Debbie and Simon x …. 


When I got home I made wild garlic pesto, wild garlic oil and violet sugar. Had some of the wild garlic in an omelet tonight and we both loved it. I am looking forward to trying some of the recipes in your book particularly the lemonade and lavender biscuits and will have to try some of the recipes using nettles too. 

Thanks Lucia.. Another great day.. I made Oyster and Mussel Risotto on Sunday - most excellent..! Anna and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and have been singing your praises to all our friends here in Lewisham....you may find yourself inundated with foragers from Catford! I now can’t wait for our shellfish forage and picnic in June. I am thinking of bringing my mum along for a forage day for her birthday - probably smugglers and samphire in July but I will confirm with you asap. Many thanks again - it exceeded my expectations and you may be interested to hear we had pasta and wild garlic pesto for tea last night which was devoured by all! Laura.