Pascal Baudar, author and renowned professional forager for L.A.’s top chefs, will return to Ojai as Herb Walks with Lanny Kaufer’s special guest on Saturday, August 11, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a workshop on brewing wild beers with local plants. He will demonstrate techniques described in his latest book, The Wildcrafting Brewer, the follow-up to his best-selling 2016 book, The New Wildcrafted Cuisine. A limited number of copies of both books will be available for sale and signing.

Baudar will get back to the basics of making beer. Participants will be amazed how easy it is to make tasty beers at home with little equipment. During this workshop, they will  learn about plants that have been used during history as brewing ingredients, how to extract wild yeast, creating sugar sources from fruits and berries and much more.

Baudar and Kaufer will lead off with a plant walk and identify some of the plants and other ingredients (such as barks and roots) that have been used historically to create interesting brews (Horehound, Mugwort, Yarrow, etc.). They will also talk about medicinal and edible plants during the walk. It’s a very slow walk, probably less than 2 hours.

After the walk, the group will go back to a community kitchen where Pascal will show the group the process of making a simple wild beer on location. Everyone will go through all the steps so participants can easily redo it at home.  Some wild refreshments, some beer tasting, and very unusual, wild-foraged, gourmet snacks such as acorn/pinyon pine fermented cheeses, acorn hummus, and fermented spring edibles on wildcrafted flatbread will be served. Baudar will also have some non alcoholic drinks such as a forest or mountain herbs infusion to share.

The $75 fee includes the walk and all foods and beverages to be sampled. To register, visit www.HerbWalks.com, or contact Lanny Kaufer at 805-646-6281 or [email protected]. 

ABOUT PASCAL BAUDAR:

Pascal Baudar is a writer, naturalist, and a self-styled “culinary alchemist” based in Los Angeles. His passion is to study wild edibles and research new culinary uses through ancient and traditional methods of food preservation as well as contemporary cooking techniques. He also did the Master Food Preserving / Food Safety Advisor program at the University of California in 2011.

From 2011 to 2014, his truly unique preserves, drinks and various wildcrafted condiments made their way into the kitchens of such star chefs as Ludo Lefebvre, Josiah Citrin, Ari Taymor, Michael Voltaggio, Chris Jacobson, Matthew Biancaniello (Eat Your Drinks) and Niki Nakayama (N/Naka restaurant)

He has served as a wild food consultant for several TV shows including MasterChef and Top Chef Duels. He has been featured in numerous TV shows and publications, including Time magazine, the Los Angeles Times, L.A. Weekly, and the New York Times.

In 2014, he was named one of the 25 most influential tastemakers in L.A. by Los Angeles magazine and in 2017 as offering one of the most innovative culinary classes.

Pascal has written two books: The New Wildcrafted Cuisine and The Wildcrafting Brewer. Both books became Amazon bestsellers in several categories.These days he is focusing on writing and education; his next book projects are related to lacto-fermentation of wild edibles using local bacteria and another book about creating a cuisine around the most invasive plants in North America.

Southern California is surrounded by delicious and nutritious invasive plants such as mustards, perennial pepperweed, dandelion, chickweed, chervil and countless others and, yet, we have people who cannot afford good food or stay hungry. The cities are also spending money and spraying chemicals on these edible or medicinal plants. Done properly, educating people and creating an innovative cuisine around these plants can be an alternate solution which benefits both man and nature.

Pascal’s philosophy is that conscious wildcrafting should be able to help the environment by focusing on the non-native and invasive plants as well as growing native plants.

CALENDAR LISTING INFO:

• Brewing Wild Beers with Local Plants: A Workshop with Pascal Baudar and Ojai native plant guide Lanny Kaufer 
• Saturday, August 11, 2018  – 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
• Learn about wildcrafted brews and cuisine from author and professional forager Pascal Baudar
• Admission: $75 includes all materials and snacks.
• Register at HerbWalks.comor by phone at 805-646-6281

Get Citizensjournal.us Headlines free  SUBSCRIPTION. Keep us publishing – DONATE