Pascal Baudar is a rockstar in foraging. He’s a Belgian French chef in Los Angeles and he finds a lot of important ingredients for his cooking when he’s hiking in city parks. For a chef, he’s a friendly dude. He hosts hikes and classes in these parks, too. And he’s written a few books full of gorgeous, inspiring photos.
I visited LA a few years ago and Leyna gave me the hot tip to go find Pascal so I registered for one of his hikes. What fun! Whenever you visit LA, do this.
We hiked around with a couple dozen folks for an hour or so. Pascal pointed out all sorts of goodies growing wild that we could make easy tasty vittles with. This would be haute cuisine. Local food is required to make the best food. It’s a rule. Food brings people together. Our group had a great time. It was fun chatting with people and bumping into them as we rumpushed around.
Pascal showed us greens. And spices. And things to make salts. And things to make beers.
After the hike we had a picnic that featured a couple dozen goodies that Pascal had prepared from stuff in the park beforehand. Some of the ppl took nibbles. Some were shy. Pascal and I pounded that picnic! It’s a mind-opening approach to cuisine. Top shelf, no doubt.
All his books are great. Get them all. $25 each ballpark. I think he has 3.
www.amazon.com/New-Wildcrafted-Cuisine-Exploring-Gastronomy/dp/1603586067/jeffpottersou-20
