MASTERCLASS: Discovering Wild Foods by Dyson Forbes

Name: MASTERCLASS: Discovering Wild Foods by Dyson Forbes
Start: 2025-04-11T18:30:00-04:00
Location: The Depanneur

Schedule

Fri, 11 Apr, 2025 at 06:30 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

The Depanneur | Toronto, ON

What does it taste like to live in Ontario?
This is a tricky question to answer for two reasons. Firstly, although we grow a lot of things, most of what is cultivated here is not native to Ontario. The vast majority of food crops are essentially an invasive species that that been introduced and have taken over our local ecosystems. Secondly, most of the food plants that are indigenous to Ontario are not grown commercially nor available for purchase in stores. The only products actually native to Ontario one is likely to find in a supermarket might be maple syrup, blueberries and wild rice. So we find ourselves deeply disconnected from our terroir, seasons and natural environment, as well as sustainable First Nations food traditions that reach back thousands of years.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Ontario is abundant with all manner of edible plants, mushrooms, herbs, nuts, fruits and vegetables, if you only know what to look for — and that is exactly what the Forbes family has been doing for decades. Dyson Forbes, following in the footsteps of his father Jonathan, have devoted themselves to making wild foraged native foodstuffs available to a broader Canadian audience through their company, Forbes Wild Foods. Working with specialized teams of foragers — rural Indigenous people, women, youth, retirees, farmers, and professional pickers — they carefully and sustainably harvest abundant wild foods, and help propagate rare plants by reintroducing them to lands that need remedial attention, such as overgrazed woodlots and pastures.
For this Masterclass, Dyson will be walking guests through a multi-course tasting session designed to showcase the unique flavours of a wide range of native foods, from teas, berries, and nuts to mushrooms, herbs, and seaweeds. These remarkable ingredients are available in variety of forms, from pickles and jams to powders and teas, making them available year-round. Dyson will speak to some of the overall considerations of Canadian foraging as well as sharing fascinating botanical, historical, nutritional and medicinal details of particular species.
Berries: Skunk Currant, Cloudberry, Saskatoon Berry, Elderberry
Plants: Cattail, Sweet Fern, Sweetgrass, Labrador Tea
Seaweeds: Dulce, Sea Asparagus, Sea Truffle
Mushrooms: Lobster, Chanterelles, Candy Cap
Trees: Birch, Haskap, Balsam, Spruce, Cedar
Nuts: Beech Nuts, Heartnut, Black Walnut, Chestnuts, Hickory
(Exact items will depend on availability)
A simple but extensive tasting menu has been prepared in collaboration with Chef Taylor Parker, the man behind the popular Indigenous Food Lab dinner series. This will be a unique opportunity to sample a broad range of rare flavours and ingredients that are a connection to our Canadian landscape. Dyson will also have a selection of wild food products for sale at the end of the event, so you can take home some of the amazing new flavours you have discovered.
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$79 +HST
BOOK NOW! - https://thedepanneur.ca/event/masterclass-discovering-wild-foods-by-dyson-forbes/
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With more than twenty years of experience in the food industry, and over twenty five years in film, television, and content creation, Dyson Forbes has a unique set of skills well suited to food marketing and education. He has worked with Forbes Wild Foods almost from the start. As well as marketing wild foods, Dyson leads foraging trips for small parties, and does presentations to chefs, student chefs, and organizations with an interest in food. He is involved in several on-line initiatives about food trends, farming and resource management, and cultural development.
@forbeswildfoods
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The Depanneur is where Interesting Food Things happen. For more than a decade The Dep has been showcasing Toronto’s remarkable culinary diversity by hosting unique food events.
@thedepanneur