5 Foraging Expeditions for the Ultimate Culinary Adventure, From Cambodia to Sweden

Wild-food foraging is having a gourmet moment. From the jungles of Cambodia to the fjords of Sweden, the promise of gastronomic experiences in untamed settings is attracting curious travelers seeking to reset their relationships with nature—and with food. The appeal is understandable: Anyone can get a table at an award-winning restaurant, but only a select few can catch a fish in the morning and watch it get turned into sushi the same evening.

“I think the new luxury is learning new things, being with people who know their trade extremely well and [want to share] that information with you—whether it’s a leatherworker, potter, chef, or barman,” says Valentine Warner, a British chef, writer, and TV host who founded last year. Through its elaborate culinary retreats in the Kenyan bush, guests team up with an array of cooks to collect edible plants in a combination master class and gathering mission. “We aim to fill everybody’s heads up with wonderful things,” he adds.

For food-minded travelers with an adventurous streak, here’s a look at five experiences around the world where back-to-basics foraging meets wild gastronomy.

The Culinary Adventure, Do the North | Sweden

Image Credit: Courtesy of Do the North

If you’re not above roughing it, this four-day kayaking and camping expedition around Sweden’s Sankt Anna and Gryt archipelagoes offers a food-focused walk—or should we say paddle?—on the wild side. What you lose in resort-style accommodations is made up for by the food: Breakfast can include waffles with wild rhubarb and raspberries; dinners look more like juniper-roasted juniper venison shot by a local hunter, with green sauce made with foraged mint, chives, and garlic.
El Karama Lodge x Kitchen in the Wild | Laikipia, Kenya

Image Credit: Petros Teka

During this six-day escapade at the family-owned El Karama safari lodge, a local botanist will teach you how to identify and use indigenous plants, such as curry leaves and wild basil, in cocktail and cooking classes. If you’re not squeamish, you might even hunt termites to add a bit of crunch in your morning eggs. But the biggest meals will be prepared by Jackson Boxer, whose work at Henri in London and Cowley Manor in the Cotswolds has made him a rising star on the U.K. culinary scene. And it’s not all bugs: Expect inventive preparations of fresh seafood or local goat, cooked on an open fire.
A Journey into Slovenia

Image Credit: Andrea Cairone

Along with visits to Slovenia’s wine country and several cooking classes (you’ll learn how to make local delicacies such as traditional cumin-spiced flatbread), luxury-tour operator Black Tomato’s 11-day trip features a truffle-hunting expedition in Istria, the peninsula that Slovenia, Croatia, and Italy share. The search for the vaunted gourmet fungi takes place on a local family’s private woodland and is followed by a four-course tasting menu studded with your finds.
Shinta Mani Wild | Cambodia

Image Credit: Courtesy of Shinta Mani Resorts

To access this luxurious tent retreat deep in the rainforests of Cambodia’s Cardamom National Park, guests have the option to strap into a zip line and slide for 1,300 feet over the jungle canopy. Chef Preeti Bomzon invites visitors on her daily foraging trips to harvest herbs, mushrooms, and jungle fruit including mangosteen and kuy (it tastes like the love child of an orange, a mango, and a passion fruit) for meals that will be prepared back at base camp.
Sonora Resort | British Columbia

Image Credit: Courtesy of Relais & Châteaux

Accessible by only sea or air, this Relais & Châteaux wilderness lodge is set within Canada’s Discovery Islands archipelago. Its Tide to Table experience is open to seasoned anglers and novices alike: Out on the water, fishing experts will help you catch local Chinook salmon, lingcod, Dungeness crab, and spot prawns. Back at the resort, chefs will clean and prepare the daily catch, turning it into sashimi, tartare, or grilled fish for dinner.