This week Bill Manson, organizer of world-wide Local Wild Food Challenges takes over this blog to share his recent experiences of  Russian patrol boats, Smoked Muikku and the ethereal sounding cloudberries foraged and eaten in Punkaharju, Finland.  On October 8th,  Martha’s Vineyard will hold its third Local Wild Food Challenge so time grows short for you to plan, forage and cook Island sourced and inspired food.  Hopefully, the story of Bill’s recent travels in Finland and the history of the Challenge itself will serve as inspiration:

“More gold ahead Billy” calls Aki, my friend and Punkaharju, Finland local. He points to a cluster of bright yellow cornets poking out of the forest floor like a seam of treasure…Chanterelles! We kneel down & gently cut the mushrooms at their base, brush them lightly to remove forest debris & place them in our foraging basket.

This area of Finland is a massive system of lakes & waterways, situated in the densely wooded eastern part of the country.  It’s 7.30 am & we’re walking through an ancient forest 30 miles from the Russian border on our way to fish for Lake Perch. Lots of locals are doing the same today, hoping to win a prize in the second annual Local Wild Food Challenge Punkaharju, an adventure culinary contest held in several locations around the world: the North & South Islands of New Zealand, Martha’s Vineyard and, come spring, Savoie in the French Alps.

“Where there’s one there are always others” Aki advises and sure enough, with a little more lifting of leaves another cluster of chanterelles appears. We continue on to the lake front gathering bounty as we go. Porcini and blueberries, coral mushroom and lingonberries add more color and scent to the basket.

At the lake, tied to a jetty, an old hulking steel Russian patrol boat sits solidly in the water. A couple of Aki’s friends appear & after greeting us, begin prepping rods & gear. This 30 foot beast is to be our fishing vessel. The boat is powered by a WW2 era Russian tank engine & requires a separate auxiliary motor just to get the oil pressure up to start the thing! Aki turns switches, pulls levers & suddenly the tank engine rumbles to life. We’re off, out into a stunningly beautiful Nordic lake with a crew of extremely hospitable, slightly crazy local Finns, all hell-bent on catching Perch to add to their already formidable wild food bounty.

Wild Foods Around the World - an Idea Whose Time Was Ripe
This odyssey I am on began a couple of years ago in my hometown of Eastbourne, New Zealand. After travelling and cooking in different parts of the world, including Martha’s Vineyard and France, my wife Sarah and I moved back to New Zealand to discover that many of our local friends were using wild food in their everyday cooking. It occurred to us that the same could be said of our mates in other parts of the world. The foragers and pig hunters of the French Alps, the clammers, fishermen and bow hunters of Martha’s Vineyard and the divers, distillers and game bird enthusiasts from Wakatipu, New Zealand. For all these people, bragging rights played a part of course but so did barter, health benefits and environmental awareness.

From Abalone to Caramelized Cicadas
In Eastbourne we decided to try to get these local people together and celebrate their skills in a mellow, relaxed and fun cooking contest. The Local Wild Food Challenge was born. We held the first Challenge at our local pub and the response was fantastic. People from all walks of life turned up with wild food dishes ranging from Abalone (Paua) & Wild Pig to caramelized Cicadas and Wild Blackberry Ice Cream. Hunters, gatherers, chefs, home-cooks, fishermen & gardeners all put out an amazing array of entries.

From Hemisphere to Hemisphere
It was at another one of our events in New Zealand that a friend from Finland suggested that our Challenge would be welcomed in Punkaharju, east of Helsinki. After much to-ing and fro-ing we managed to set up our first European leg of the Local Wild Food Challenge. Taking our idea not only across geographical borders, but language and cultural lines too was a fairly daunting prospect. I should not have worried. The Punkaharju locals turned out in force and took me into their community like a long lost cousin. I found myself noshing on Reindeer, Smoked Muikku (fish), Arctic Brambles, Cloud Berries, Porcini, Pike & Wild Duck, drinking local Finnish schnapps & ‘taking naked sauna’ with several of the townsfolk which was rather odd to me but completely normal in this part of the planet. Since then, apart from a huge range of game, fish, crustaceans and plants, local people have entered beers, ales, liquors, cordials, jellies, stews, cakes, even home harvested sea salt. Almost anything we could imagine.

Detente Owners Meet the Challenge
Kevin & Suzanna Crowell of Détente restaurant in Edgartown were visiting us during an Eastbourne Challenge. As a fellow chef I asked if Kevin wanted to judge the Eastbourne challenge with me. He accepted and afterward suggested we hold a similar event on the Vineyard. This spawned the first Martha’s Vineyard Local Wild Food Challenge in 2010. Now into our third year, we’ll be back at the MV Rod & Gun Club on October 8th.

The Vineyard has really embraced the idea & the quality of entries as well as the amazing effort people put into procuring their ingredients show a community very much in touch with its surrounding environment and resources. Vineyard foragers have used an enormous array of wild ingredients–Canadian Geese, Bay Scallops, Venison, Rabbit, Snapping Turtle, Scup, Bass, Bluefish, Bonito, Brook Trout, Crabs, Clams, Nettle, Watercress, Autumn Berry, Sorrel, Dandelion, Juniper Berries…… this is just the tip of wild food iceberg.

Kids Welcome to Take Up the Challenge
I am hoping to see more kids enter this year, not just for the prizes and fun of the competition but to learn so much more about their island and community. What strikes me most about the Local Wild Food Challenge is how the same spirit prevails no matter what cultural/geographical differences exist: The fierce pride in the community and of the local environment in each place we hold our events is truly inspiring. People across the globe are taking back responsibility for the food they eat, the environment they live in and the precious resources surrounding them; not being told what to do or eat in a ‘top down’ process, but seeing first-hand how to interact with their environment in a ‘ground up’ way of living.

September’s Punkaharju Local Wild Food Challenge was so much fun. Loads of foraged, hunted, gathered & grown ingredients were thoughtfully put together in some stunning dishes. The winning dish incorporated seared Lake Perch, Chanterelle sauce, Porcini whipped home grown Potatoes, Muikku, Wild Herb and Freshwater Crayfish salad. All ingredients were locally caught (or dug) and the fellow only just got the fish an hour before the contest began! Aki and this community really understand and respect the ‘gold’ right outside their doorsteps.

Martha’s Vineyard: Next on the Menu
Now I can’t wait to see how the Martha’s Vineyard locals showcase their dynamic and imaginative wild food skills on October 8th at the Rod & Gun Club in Edgartown and hear the stories of adventure in the procurement of the ingredients.

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