Each month, newsletter editor Kristen Frederickson meets a Guild member with a story to tell. This month, one of our further flung food writers: Adele Nozedar, Welsh forager

‘Greed, curiosity, and a love of the wild stuff. And loving making recipes.’

Since you've written extensively about foraging with and cooking with children, can you tell us what's the biggest challenge working with this delightful group of people?

‘I take out lots of family groups, and it's always the children that ask the most ridiculous and bonkers questions which are the hardest to answer and the most thought provoking. Kids will often peel off in the middle of a forage and do the odd cartwheel or climb a tree – this is absolutely what I want them to be doing. Actually I think it would be better for grown-ups if we behaved with a similar freedom of expression! Foraging is NEVER just about edible plants, believe me!

‘The Hedgerow Handbook made me a lot of friends and is a good example of how a love for something can lead your life. I'm really thrilled with Foraging with Kids which came out last September. As well as being full of recipes and quirly little tips, it's also a colouring book AND has free downloadable activity packs for schools, libraries, forest schools etc.’

Has your membership of the Guild made a difference? 

‘I've been a member for about 6 years and have met some lovely people, sometimes even in real life such as at the Ludlow Food Fest as well as at Abergavenny. We need more members in Wales for sure!’

What food-related book would you recommend to others?

‘If you get interested in foraging, it's likely that you'll get into food history and how we used to feed ourselves before we had the availability of world cuisines even in small rural towns in Wales! Dorothy Hartley's Food in England is a must for anyone interested in food, history, and life in general. Hartley was an interesting character; amongst other things she founded the Youth Hostelling Association. Also I'd have to mention Patience Gray. As well as her own books, there's a real page-turner of a biography by Adam Federman which you may well find yourself reading avidly!’

What makes you and your writing tick?

‘If you let yourself be led by what you love, then you'll generally be happy. I'm really interested in the relationship between plants and human beings – the stories, the food, how we used to eat and how we live. I also LOVE making up recipes and writing them into endless exercise books, something I've done since I was a kid! This was probably how I got into food writing, come to think of it. Luckily my partner Liam used to be a chef, is an extremely innovative and artistic cook, and now makes vegan charcuterie (thenomeatsteakcompany.co.uk) so there are always weird and wonderful ingredients to play with, and of course I'm eating FAR too much of the produce. I'm also wild food consultant to The Three Horseshoes in Groesffordd, recently voted Best Pub in Powys, in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere in the Brecon Beacons. The chefs there do their own foraging, with a little guidance from me, and I can honestly tell you that the offering there is are better than most Michelin starred places I've been to – it's only a matter of time before they get theirs. If you're at the Abergavenny Food Festival this year, make time to go to The Three Horseshoes – it's only half an hour away and you'll thank me for it threehorseshoesgroesffordd.com’

The Hedgerow Handbook

Foraging with Kids

The Garden Forager 

breconbeaconsforaging.com Wales' only dedicated foraging centre, located in the heart of the Brecon Beacons: The Bookhouse, 1 Tregaer Road, Llanfrynach, Brecon LD3 7HT.