Kokova Magazine

Thom Hunt from Channel 4's "Three Hungry Boys" will be out foraging the grounds and Helford River shoreline of Cornwall's Budock Vean hotel in April 5th - 8th April 2013 helping guests make the most of the Great British Countryside with a focus on wild food cooking.

Thom Hunt is one third of Hugh Fearnely-Whittingstall's Three Hungry Boys and is the Hunter/Fisher/Forager star the popular Channel 4 show.

Wellies and waterproofs are a must as Thom leads a small group of enthusiasts on a three day food-finding Odyssey around the 65 acre estate.

Having appeared in two series and written a book of the same name, Thom now runs courses teaching guests how to make the most out of the Great British Countryside with a focus on Wild Food Cooking, as well as having a monthly Wild Food features show on BBC Radio Cornwall.

There will be plenty of chances to learn new hands-on skills with lots of interesting ingredients many people will never have tried before. The weekend covers the three disciplines of Wild Food - Fish, Wild Meats and Foraging and I aim to send my fellow foragers away after our time at the Budock Vean with the skills they need to survive in the wild - plus a goody bag to help them on their way!

Thom

The weekend break is set in the multi award winning, family run, luxury four star Budock Vean Hotel, nestled in 65 acres of organically managed sub-tropical gardens, running down to the Helford River, amid some of the most beautiful natural coastal and river scenery in the country.

With outstanding leisure facilities which include a spectacular indoor swimming pool with log fire, sauna, outdoor hot tub, natural health spa, 9-hole golf course, tennis courts, private foreshore , the hotel also boasts an award winning restaurant specialising in the best Cornish produce.

The Budock Vean Foragers will also have full use of the four-star hotel's luxury facilities and there are rounds of golf to be had and games of tennis, for those with energy left from their days out in the fresh air.

Or they can simply wallow in the large indoor pool, admire the view from the outdoor hot-tub and relax in the luxury of the Natural Health Spa, knowing the products by Spiezia Organics are hand-made a few miles away from locally ""foraged" plants and flowers.

Thom will be uncovering a whole new edible world in our beautiful grounds and water-frontage and we're very much looking forward to seeing what he discovers. We already source the vast majority of food for our restaurant from within just a few miles of the hotel and we keep our own bees for honey - but foraging on our own land is about as "locally sourced" as it gets.

Martin Barlow, Owner, Budock Vean

The three day break has a packed itinerary including: -

• wild food foraging around the hotel's 65 acres of grounds which run down to a private foreshore on the Helford River - how to identify a minimum of ten edible plants including flowers, seaweeds, fungi, shoots and roots
• fish filleting and hot smoking - gutting, de-scaling, filleting and skinning fish - then smoking on a barbeque
• meat and game preparation - including how to skin a rabbit, some simple butchery, then slow roasting in an underground oven in the hotel grounds
• shellfish prep including how to pick and dress a crab

Three nights from Friday 5th April - departing Monday 8th April is £420 per person, dinner, bed and breakfast in a standard room or £459 in a superior room.

For more information visit www.budockvean.co.uk