Blog

26 August 2020

West Coast Wild Foods

Jeremy Budd and Austin Glenn are passionate about wild foods. To share that passion with others, they started West Coast Wild Foods in 2009. Their company is a testament to their love for the outdoors and reflects a lifetime spent searching for wild foods in the mountains and forests of the Pacific Northwest. They are continuously exploring and learning about wild mushrooms and other wild delicacies that the beautiful BC landscape offers.

 

Much of their teenage years were spent harvesting wild mushrooms and working in the field as buying agents, which has contributed to their knowledge and experience in the wild mushroom industry.

 

In the early days, their company focused on morels. Jeremy and Austin travelled year after year from the Northwest Territories to Southern BC, harvesting, buying, drying and processing morels in preparation for selling to their quickly expanding customer base. They soon became well known for the quality of their morels and even designed an emission-free, all-natural drying system that only uses air and heat from wood.

 

Over time, their business has grown to include other types of wild mushrooms, like golden chanterelles, lobster mushrooms and a variety of dried mushrooms such as pine, candy cap, porcini and black trumpet. They now also carry wild greens like sea asparagus and the elusive fiddleheads, which are incredibly abundant in eastern Canada and eaten as a springtime favourite. 

 

2012 was an exciting year, as they began researching and learning how to gather maple syrup from BC maples trees. Overall, they will continue to focus on bringing rare, wild food products to the public. As they continue to learn and grow, they look forward to sharing their discoveries and vision with everyone interested in experiencing what the Pacific Northwest forest has to offer.

 

Some key aspects of West Coast Wild Foods:

 

Focus on unique ingredients – the company aims to bring new and exciting ingredients to consumers. The forests around the Pacific Northwest are rich in biodiversity. They are brimming with unique ingredients like sweet berries, savoury mushrooms and fresh greens that add a unique twist to any meal.

 

Focus on forest-to-plate – similar to the farm-to-table concept, West Coast Wild Foods is committed to delivering the best wild foods to consumers, which is why they explore the best locations and you will see that the same people who harvest the ingredients are the ones that send out your orders. With more people switching to organic foods to reduce the harmful consumption of chemicals and fertilizers, the company can ensure that wild-harvested foods are naturally organic as they grow the way nature intended; no human intervention until the moment they are picked!

 

Focus on chemical-free – their products are as healthy and nutritious as possible. No fertilizers or chemicals are used, and each ingredient is fed by meltwater and nourished by the forest itself.

 

Focus on sustainability – it is essential to keep the forest wild, so every harvester shares their commitment to a sustainable wild harvest by protecting the land and keeping the forest active and healthy. Unlike conventional agriculture, they aren’t planting crops, which means sustainability is key. They only harvest sustainable amounts from specific locations to ensure that each plant can continue to thrive and support the natural ecosystem. This ensures that customers have something to enjoy the next season!

 

Visit their website for great articles and recipes and to find out more about their products at https://www.westcoastwildfoods.com/ca/. Follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/westcoastwildfoods and check out their wild foods in our Shop - https://bit.ly/34w3ymw.

 

 

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