Peter Langlands is a rare local specimen: a licensed professional forager. This means he sources wild food for chefs and runs workshops on how to forage. Out of about 7500 edible(Penguin), picked on the basis of tastiness, safety and availability. Accurate identification is vital, given the need to avoid toxins and contaminants and to prepare some foraged foods correctly. As he says, “There is not much room for error.” The clear descriptions and photos are helpful, though it may be best to join a foraging group if one is near. The book warns of stuff not to touch, and plants that look like others but are verboten. The range is impressive. You may know you can eat samphire and wild chervil, but be surprised that you can scarf parts of rengarenga, pōhutukawa stamens and wandering willie.
