Who: Sami Tallberg, rewarded food-visionary, kitchen chef and culinary author
How he moves: Chasing wild herbs in nature, both in Finland and around the world
Where to find him: IG: @SAMITALLBERG and SAMITALLBERG.COM
My very first foraging trip changed completely both, my personal- as well as my professional life. That day I discovered wild seakale, wild oysters and beautifully blooming wild fennel, all at the same coastal area. Within minutes I had picked and eaten a set of unforgettable culinary delights and I will never forget those super clean, bold, minerally, and aromatic flavors with wonderful crunchiness to add even more character to these superfoods.
Later the same foraging day I also discovered plenty of watercress, a proper patch of it, next to running still water. I sat around that stream to chill out, picked and ate a good handful of this stunningly peppery salad leaf and something changed within me. It was indeed a magical moment and opened up the nature connection for a city boy until then, a professional forager, chef, author and wild food trainer nowadays. This day also marks the very beginning of discovery for my ikigai.
Soon after that day I realized that I have successfully identified 30+ edible wild plants and that they had all become the ultimate core of my food philosophy as a professional chef and featured on my daily cooking at home, too.
As few years had passed and I realized that my phone was ringing and the mailbox is filling up with requests to execute catering- and keynote events around the globe – all based on foraging and served menus were related to foraged, wild ingredients. Throughout 25 countries where I have created these unique events, I understood that this is not a trend that will pass but an ancient nature-human connection being activated and that I was ‘the chosen one’ to help peeps reactivate this natural connection within themselves.
Throughout these fruitful years of activism, my own nature connection bloomed even more and for each event I brought some Finnish wild ingredients and combined them with locally foraged wild ingredients at each country and city/village. These successful flavor pairings provided me kind of magical realization that what we’re talking about here is actually ancient heritage being reawakening, globally, a sesh by sesh. Now, after all these years and numerous separate restaurant projects based on wild food, I am delighted to see that the appreciation for wild food has really become popular and generally understood throughout Finland, and that this movement keeps on growing naturally according to time we live in.
In Finland we also have these wonderful everyone's rights that enable anyone despite one's habitat, social status or nationality, to roam free and forage. It is also important to highlight and celebrate that these edible wild ingredients are the very core pillars, a special characters of Finnish food culture.
Autumn is known as a season for vast number of edible species of wild mushrooms. I highly recommend You to familiarize with the range of 80+ edible wild mushrooms – all these varieties are introduced thoroughly with identification details, recipes and fascinating stories of human-nature connection within my book: Forager's Cookbook FUNGI.
Arched Woodwax: Stylish, elegant texture with wonderful and complex aromas of dried fruits.
Wood Hedhehog: Nutty and fruity flavours with sturdy texture.
Black Trompette: Sleek black coloured beauty with delicious and aromatic taste that lingers on, for long!
Parasol mushroom: Masculine, complex and sweetish mushroom and hazelnut like taste, packed with umami.
Velvet Milkcap: As refined taste, looks and texture that as a mushroom ever gets. A true delicacy!
"These pants are so comfortable that you don't even notice you're wearing them—truly an incredible design! Practical, protective in all weather conditions, and the material is 100% breathable. For mushroom-picking season, they're my absolute favorite!"
"This merino t-shirt is absolutely brilliant; warm without making you sweat and super comfortable to wear since you don't have to stuff a thick shirt under your jacket."
