Last June I was the guest chef for the second time at a local bar in Chorlton, Manchester.

I had held 6 wild food evenings at a smaller local café before that, but when I was invited to run a Guestrant at Electrik, my stomach flipped over! I felt excited, flattered and terrified!I am not a trained chef, but I have always loved feeding people and loved running my small, intimate, did I mention…SMALL wild food nights.

I knew I had to recruit another brilliant pair of hands to keep me calm in the kitchen. My friend Aleyna, had always helped me with my wild food evenings, but she had left Manchester in January 2011 to start her incredible shop in Suffolk earlier in the year,  her absence left a huge gaping hole.

My new right hand woman arrived in the form of Deanna Thomas, food blogger, professionally trained chef and joint founder of  North Star Deli  back in 2003. We created a menu using my wild food knowledge, that others might then hopefully feel inspired to recreate.  Deanna has a big reputation and her professional expertise were both a most welcome relief and a scary prospect. I knew that I wanted to do my very best to make sure that her reputation wasn’t left in tatters after associating with me! Together we delivered 3 courses of tasty, beautifully presented.

The night was reviewed by North South Food Blog and I can honestly say that night I felt STRETCHED well out of my comfort zone. I didn’t feel panicked though, because I had all the help around me that I needed. Plus the passionate conviction that responsible foraging and eating of wild food is something worth sharing.