OUR STORY - Wild about - Wild, Seasonal Artisan Foods.

OUR STORY

is the brainchild of Fiona and Malcolm Falconer.  

A few years ago, Malcolm and Fiona Falconer sat with their 3 small children at their kitchen table of their terraced house in South London and decided to change their lives forever.
Sticking a pin in a map of Ireland, they jumped ship and bought a smallholding on the outskirts of  Monamolin,  Co. Wexford.  

Malcolm has a strong agricultural background raised on a smallholding farm in South Wales.  He studied Product Design and Engineering at Brunel University and holds a double M.A. from the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London.  Malc  set about building a timber framed eco house while Fiona, a native of Dublin and documentary film producer, juggled work and setting out the long planned permaculture gardens. Both Malcolm and Fiona have long been keen ecologists.

“Malc grew up with a market garden, he has a great understanding of natural ingredients and flavours, an accomplished chef, he is passionate about getting the real taste out of his ingredients .  We set out the traditional market garden, then we set about to develop the Forage Forrest, a native, ecological and sustainable garden where you can eat every plant in the environment.  We used organic and heritage varieties from the Irish seed savers association which contain more than 600 rare and endangered varieties.   

We went a bit mad with the planting. . . . !”  

Amongst the forage forest are fruiting apple, pear, cherry and plum trees ; redcurrant, blackcurrant, white currant, gooseberry, raspberry, blackberry, strawberries, elderflowers, elderberries amongst them Wild thyme, wild mint, wild rocket, wild sorrel, wild strawberries, wild evening primrose, pumpkins, yarrow, camomile, lemon balm, cumin, coriander, fennel, parsley, chives and other herbs.

The traditional garden hosts a rotation of seasonal vegetables such as beetroot, kale, carrot, spinach, turnip, broccoli, cabbage, asparagus, leeks, onions, parsnips, courgettes, spring onions, butternut squash, garlic, fennel, broad beans, sugarsnaps and peas, the polytunnel houses tomatoes, chillies, aubergines, peppers, cucumbers, sometimes even melons.

While all around the farm you will find sunflowers, marigolds, rhubarb, rosehips, haws, crab apples, guelder rose, wild pear, bird cherry, Aronia, Bullace, Quince, Cherry Plum and Cornellian Cherry

t is a new and innovative range of hand crafted Artisan products and gifts made from Irelands’ wealth of native wild ingredients.   Our products are made from seasonal fruits, vegetables, herbs and berries sourced locally in the wild or grown in our permaculture gardens in Co. Wexford, IRELAND.  


Many of our core ingredients are what is  modernly termed as ‘Superfoods’ rich in mineral salts, vitamins, calcium, potassium like nettles or chickweed.  Scientifically proven to be packed with antioxidants, riboflavin’s and salicylates such as primrose and dogrose; others are acknowledged to aid digestion (fennel, wild celery, mint) aid circulation (hawthorn, beetroot), while others have anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-viral properties (wild garlic, marigold, rosemary, elder, thyme, nasturtium).  Harnessing the properties of wild native ingredients in our food is not a new idea. . . . .

"The Fruits of indigenous trees became a common food source about six thousand years ago
following forest clearance by the first farmers on the island."

-Fergus Kelly, Early Irish Farming

The Celts recognized the benefits of wild fruits and seasonal harvests and set about devising agricultural and horticultural practices which form the basis of our agricultural and cultural heritage

"Trees like the Elder, Rowan, Blackthorn, Hawthorn and Crab apple were accorded magic qualities by the Celtic Druids and were symbols of the agricultural year".

        -E. Estyn Evans: Irish Folk Ways

is committed to reintroducing native wild foods to the market in a sustainable, ecological, seasonal and most importantly delicious Artisan food range. We are a carbon neutral business, sourcing locally and dedicated to replanting habitat with native Irish crops