Mentions: theforesttable

Acorn Mountain Camp

July 9th, 2022

Come to the mountains for a two day camp at Cold Creek Organic Orchard to learn all about foraging acorns. Oak trees provide an important and valuable source of food and medicine as well as many creative and craft uses. We will be learning how to identify different groups of oaks and getting to know the key species that live in Southern California and beyond. But it doesn’t just stop with oaks and their acorns—we’ll also explore the other important species that depend on this abundant and long-lived tree to create habitat, food and a foundation for the local ecosystem. Campsites provided on the farm. Local and wild-inspired meals included.

ACORN MOUNTAIN CAMP / Agenda

Day 1

10:00 Attendee Arrivals / Introductions
10:30 Interpretive Hike: Tree Identification & Stories / Oak & Acorn Medicine Discussion / Warm Beverages / Collect Acorns
12:00 Lunch
2:00 Acorn Processing Demonstration / Cooking Demo
3:30 Rest & Dinner Prep / Attendees Set up camp
5:30 Dinner
7:00 Campfire (If permitted by forest service)

Day 2

8:30 Breakfast / Hot Beverages
10:00 Natural Dye with Oak Galls & Acorn Shells Hands-On Workshop
12pm Lunch
1:00 Nature Meditation by the creek
Pack up & depart by 3pm

October 22-23
10am Saturday 10/22 — 3pm Sunday 10/23

Cold Creek Organic Orchard, San Bernardino Mountains on Hwy 18

$345

To register, please complete the Registration Form and submit your payment via Venmo, Zelle or check. If you need another payment option, please contact me directly jess@jstarwood.com.

Venmo @theforesttable
Fall Celebration

June 30th, 2022

September 24th, 2022
10am-3pm
Newbury Park, CA

Join me for the best of the fall season with a full day event including a plant walk and wild food and drink tasting in Thousand Oaks (Newbury Park). We’ll be exploring what’s happening out in the wild, from the late season fruits, berries, nuts and seeds, and hopefully some mushrooms! We’ll talk about plant and mushroom identification, the foraging lifestyle, best harvesting practices, and how to preserve your harvest. Afterwards, we’ll make a wild food meal with demonstration on how to work with these ingredients, plus we’ll discuss their nutritional and medicinal properties.

$125 per adult, includes all food and drink
Children under 10 free
Children 10-18 $60

To register, please complete the Registration Form and submit your payment via Venmo, Zelle or check. If you need another payment option, please contact me directly jess@jstarwood.com.

Venmo @theforesttable
Spring Celebration

February 18th, 2022

March 27th, 2022
10am-3pm
Thousand Oaks, CA

Join me for the best of spring with a full day walk and wild food and drink tasting in Thousand Oaks. We’ll be exploring what’s happening out in the wild, from the spring ephemerals, edible invasives and garden “weeds”, wildflowers and hopefully mushrooms! We’ll talk about plant and mushroom identification, the foraging lifestyle, best harvesting practices, and how to preserve your harvest. Afterwards, we’ll make a wild food meal with demonstration on how to work with these ingredients, plus we’ll discuss their nutritional and medicinal properties.

$125 per adult, includes all food and drink
Children under 10 free
Children 10-18 $60

To register, please complete the Registration Form and submit your payment via Venmo, Zelle or check. If you need another payment option, please contact me directly.

Venmo @theforesttable
Healing with Native Plants Workshop & Wild Food Lunch

June 5th, 2021

In this full day workshop, Dr. Jim Adams will teach about native medicinal plants on a local trail in the morning, followed by a workshop in the afternoon to learn how to make medicine from these important plants. Jess Starwood will offer a gourmet tasting of local wild foods and beverages for lunch.

Jim Adams has a PhD in Pharmacology and studied with a Chumash Indian Healer for 14 years. In this class, he will teach medicinal plant identification and uses. You will be able to make a powerful pain liniment for your own use. You will be taught how to cure chronic pain. You will also be able to learn the uses of several other plants for other conditions. His book “Healing with medicinal plants of the west” will be available for purchase.

Jess Starwood is an herbalist, forager and plant based chef in the Los Angeles area. She has a Masters of Science degree in Herbal Medicine and training in holistic nutrition and mycology. She offers exclusive multi-course wild food dinners and teaches herbalism and wild food classes and workshops for adults and children.

September 18, 2021
Walnut Creek, CA
10am – 4pm

$100
Payment via Venmo is preferred. Contact us for other available options.

Registration: Please complete the form below and send in your registration fee via Venmo @theforesttable . Your registration is not complete and space reserved until your payment has been received. We look forward to having you!

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Art of Wild Food: Photography + Plating Workshop with Foraged Fare

May 25th, 2021

They say we “eat with our eyes” and research even supports the fact that food that looks good, tastes good. Join forager, herbalist and chef Jess Starwood in an immersive full day workshop for hands-on experience plating and shooting a picture perfect dish. This immersive and comprehensive workshop introduces chefs and home cooks alike to useful and creative techniques to enhance your food stories whether for documentation or to stand out in our heavily visual world of media.

Topics covered:

Composition
Developing a food concept
Color Theory
Plating techniques using seasonal wild foods
Visual balance
Garnishes
Texture
Working with light and shadow
Essential and non-essential photography gear
Natural & artificial lighting
Setting up a photo studio
Selecting and using props
Developing your style
Post-editing

Students will be assigned three photo challenges to complete in class using wild foods and receive constructive feedback to improve technique and develop style.

Requirement: You must bring your own digital camera (DSLR, point and shoot, smart phone) that you can email the files to the instructor during class to be used in the showcase at the end of the day for feedback. It will be very helpful to have basic knowledge of how your camera works.

Optional: You may bring your own props (plates, bowls, silverware, linens) but not required.

Date & Time: September 12, 2021 10am-5pm
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA (no virtual option available at this time)

Class Registration Fee: $225
Payment is required to hold your space in class. Please send via Venmo to @theforesttable Questions on payment methods? Email jess@jstarwood.com

Your instructor:

Jess Starwood
Before devoting her life to wild food and herbal medicine, Jess Starwood completed her undergraduate degree in art and design at California State University Channel Islands. She spent many years as a freelance designer and art director working with high end clients in the luxury hotel and resort industry. While no longer designing or photographing as her main focus, it remains the vehicle which has helped to capture the essence of her work in wild food. Her dramatic photography and whimsically styled dishes have graced the cover of Edible Ojai & Ventura County multiple times and was named one of the most creative chefs in Ventura County. She is the author and photographer of the upcoming Mushroom Wanderland: A Forager’s Guide to Finding, Identifying and Using More than 25 Fungi, available from Countryman Press.

Registration:

Class size is limited for direct teacher instruction. Payment secures your spot in class. Venmo preferred.

Date & Time: September 12, 2021 10am-5pm
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA (no virtual option available at this time)

Class Registration Fee + Wild-Inspired Lunch: $325
Payment is required to hold your space in class. Please send via Venmo to @theforesttable Questions on payment methods? Email jess@jstarwood.com

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What kind of camera will you be using in class?

What is your experience level with a camera?

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Medicinal Mushrooms Workshop

March 8th, 2021

Why medicinal mushrooms and what do they do? Are they even worth it? What’s hype and what’s science behind medicinal mushrooms? Learn how fungi can support balance in the body, mind and community.

Mushrooms have been used by humans from the beginning of time yet they still capture our attention and fascination. Even modern science has taken note. But what makes them so alluring?

Learn all about the uses and benefits of the popular cultivated fungi and others that you can find locally in the wild of Southern California. What is the science behind them and how effective are they?

We will discuss the health benefits of: reishi, cordyceps, turkey tail, maitake, lion’s mane, fly agaric, and psilocybe, and how they interact with our immune system and work to restore balance in our lives.

Each participant will take home a double extraction tincture we made in class, plus samples of different mushroom extract powders.

Medicinal mushroom based snacks and beverages will be provided.

Masks and social distancing required.

Jess Starwood is an author, herbalist, chef and mushroom hunter. She has a Master’s degree in Herbal Medicine and author of Mushroom Wanderland: A Forager’s Guide to Finding, Identifying, and Using More Than 25 Wild Fungi available August 2021. See more on instagram @jess.starwood or jstarwood.com

March 27th, 2021
4:00-6:00pm
Thousand Oaks, CA (Exact location to be provided after registration)
$75 per person, includes materials, food and beverage

To Register:
$75 (includes materials fees) paid via VENMO @theforesttable (preferred) and please submit the form below:

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No refunds one week prior to event. When full, waitlist will be available.
Mushrooms of Los Angeles + Beyond

February 23rd, 2021
Thursday, March 11, 2021
5:00pm PST
Live via ZOOM, class will be recorded for registered attendees

Despite its dry climate, Southern California is a diverse habitat for fungi. From the medicinal turkey tail mushroom, to delicious chanterelles and southern candy caps, to the toxic destroying angel mushroom, this class will help you identify and discern these and many other interesting species you are likely to encounter in the local neighborhoods, parks and woodlands in the greater Los Angeles area.

This online class covers :
- Mushroom identification skills and resources
- Top edible mushrooms found in Southern California
- Ideal fungi habitats, seasons and weather patterns
- Toxic species to avoid
- Local medicinal mushrooms and their uses
- Ethics of foraging and environmental concerns regarding mushroom hunting
After class, you will receive a full-color high-resolution identification guide of 15 common mushrooms to look for in Southern California plus recipes featuring these mushrooms.

If you can’t make it live, the class will be recorded for paid attendees and can be viewed at your leisure.

Jess Starwood, herbalist, forager and chef, creates an innovative yet traditional approach to herbal medicine, wild foods and connecting the community with our local natural environment. She was recognized as one of the most creative chefs in Ventura County by Edible Ojai & Ventura County magazine in December 2019 and has worked with Michelin-starred chefs in Los Angeles, CA to bring nutritious, wild foods to the table. Not only sharing a love for unique and unusual foods, Jess strives to help students cultivate an intimate, sustainable and connected relationship with the land. She is the author of Mushroom Wanderland: A Forager’s Guide to Finding, Identifying, and Using More than 25 Species of Fungi available August 17, 2021 from Countryman Press. Instagram @jess.starwood and jstarwood.com

TICKETS & REGISTRATION

Mushrooms of Los Angeles & Beyond
March 11th, 5:00pm PST
$30

To register and secure your spot in this class, please complete the form below and send payment of $30 via VENMO to @theforesttable Your link will be sent to the email address you provide below.

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