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Fire and Wild

Fire + Wild Wilderness Retreat in Scotland

Eilean Shona off the west coast of Scotland

Eilean Shona off the west coast of Scotland

Wilderness Retreat
On the island of Eilean Shona on the West Coast of Scotland
12-19 September 2020

www.fireandwild.co.uk

“Heaven on Earth. This is the kind of magic one longs for, looks for and seldom finds.” Kate Winslet

The private island of Eilean Shona, in a remote loch off the west coast of Scotland, is the location for Fire + Wild’s first Wilderness Retreat, taking place on 12-19 September, 2020. Described by Condé Nast as ‘Britain’s most romantic island hideaway’, Eilean Shona is the location which inspired Peter Pan’s Neverland after J M Barrie rented the island in the 1920s, offering 1,300 acres of untouched, raw wilderness.

During this truly unique week of wild adventure, up to 16 guests will experience island life with Fire + Wild’s team of chefs, hunters and foragers, reconnecting to nature with workshops, fire and feasts. The island is a car-free haven and is blessed with an array of magical wildlife where deer roam freely, otters drift through surrounding lochs and eagles circle overhead. Dolphins, minke whales and basking sharks can all be seen in the surrounding waters. Days will be filled with mushroom foraging, hiking, fishing, deer butchery, whisky tasting and wild swimming with lunch on the beach or in the forest. In the evening, multi-course tasting menus will be cooked on an open wood fire, with wine pairing and wild cocktails. Every dish will celebrate the surrounding landscape and capture the flavour of the island with ingredients including red deer, wild mushrooms, coastal herbs and vegetables, freshly caught fish and seafood.

Guests will be met by the ferryman at Dorlin Pier to boat across Loch Moidart to Eilean Shona and will stay in one of a collection of private cottages each set in its own plot of wild paradise on the island, overlooking the loch. Each of the cottages have their own unique style and charm with a high level of comfort and luxury, with Egyptian cotton linen, wood fired heating inside and a fire pit outside. Breakfast with freshly baked bread and pastries will be delivered each morning.

This all-inclusive wild adventure costs from £1625 per person, including luxury accommodation, all food and drink and workshops. The price excludes the cost of travel to island. To book, visit www.fireandwild.co.uk/retreats  | Instagram @fireandwild

About Fire + Wild

“[Fire + Wild is part of] a small but growing culinary movement; call it wild dining. It embraces the best of being in nature - fresh air, stunning landscapes and potent solitude - and enhances it with world-class cuisine.” Financial Times, October 2019

Fire + Wild is a nomadic food and foraging experience hosting outdoor dining events, guided foraging walks and wild camping. Events take place all over the country from Sussex to Scotland, serving hyper-seasonal, restaurant-style dishes cooked over fire.

Fire + Wild was established in 2017 by chef, hunter and forager Mark Andrews. After several chaotic years working in London, he decided it was time for a simpler way of life and returned to his rural roots. The next few years were spent exploring the wild parts of Scotland, Sweden and France during remote camping and canoe trips while foraging wild food, hunting and cooking over fire. Fire + Wild takes a hands-on, hunter gatherer approach to sourcing ingredients. The small team includes expert foragers, trained hunters and a sommelier who work together to gather edible wild plants, berries, fungi, fish and game. Fire + Wild donates 5% of its profits to The Woodland Trust each year and has a low impact, zero waste policy.

For images and more information please contact Hannah Blake on hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk or 07730 039361.

Fire + Wild events for November and December

Fire + Wild Winter events

Fire + Wild Winter events

“A ticket to one of Fire + Wild’s foraging feasts is the perfect gift. A five-course tasting menu outdoors -think of it as a super-luxe, super-delicious barbecue.” GQ Magazine

Fire + Wild is a nomadic food and foraging experience hosting outdoor dining events, guided foraging walks and wild camping. Events take place all over the country from Sussex to Scotland, serving hyper-seasonal, restaurant-style dishes cooked over fire. Fire + Wild takes a hands-on, hunter gatherer approach to sourcing ingredients. The small team includes expert foragers, trained hunters and a sommelier who work together to gather edible wild plants, berries, fungi, fish and game. Recent dishes include squirrel and black chanterelle ragu and truffle gnocchi; wood pigeon, coal roasted squash and pickled blueberries and for pudding, grilled pears, brown butter and elderberry.

Fire + Wild events in November and December www.fireandwild.co.uk/events

Explore: wild boar: a nose to tail feast
Saturday 23rd November, 10-4pm, priced £150 per person
Location: a woodland just outside Lewes, East Sussex

This special event is focused on a truly iconic beast - the wild boar. During this off-grid event, the Fire + Wild team will guide 24 guests through the process of butchering and cooking wild boar over fire, understanding how to make use of the entire carcass, as well as learning about the animal’s behaviour, history and the fundamentals of its meat. Following the butchery session, everyone will head to a wood-fired kitchen in the forest for a five-course banquet, paired wines and wild cocktails.

Lock, stock and barrel: a festive forest feast
Saturday 7th December, 10-4pm, priced £150 per person
Location: a woodland outside Lewes, East Sussex

This is the final Fire + Wild event of the year. Focusing on game, the event will begin with a guided clay pigeon shooting session, demonstrating how to shoot moving targets and explaining the processes used to harvest wild meat in this way. Following the shoot, the group will head to secret woodland location for a five-course tasting menu of duck, partridge and rabbit, cooked over fire. Each course will be paired with festive wild cocktails, paired wines and port. 

About Fire + Wild

Fire + Wild was established in 2017 by chef, hunter and forager Mark Andrews. After several chaotic years working in London, he decided it was time for a more simple way of life and returned to his rural roots. The next few years were spent exploring the wild parts of Scotland, Sweden and France during remote camping and canoe trips while foraging wild food, hunting and cooking over fire. Fire + Wild donates 5% of its profits to The Woodland Trust each year and has a low impact, zero waste policy.

www.fireandwild.co.uk | Instagram @fireandwild

For more information, images or an interview please contact Hannah Blake at The Dining Room.

Fire + Wild

Fire and Wild (credit Daisy Saul)

Fire and Wild (credit Daisy Saul)

Forage and Feast with Fire + Wild

Fire + Wild, which hosts off-grid outdoor dining with hyper-seasonal ingredients, fire-cooking and foraging experiences is a new client at The Dining Room. Run by chef and forager Mark Andrews, Fire + Wild is everything I want in a client - brave, interesting and most of all, delicious.

I went along for the recent Forage and Feast event on Ashdown Forest which started with a guided mushroom walk through the woods with mycologist Jesper Launder. We found over 100 mushroom varieties including 30 edibles such as porcini, hedgehog, parasols and amethyst deceivers. Despite the challenging weather conditions Mark and his team created a beautiful candlelit dining table under the trees with fire pits for warmth. After the forage we arrived at the forest camp for a glass of sloe gin fizz and wild canapés of gin-cured trout croustades and crispy rabbit bruschetta around the campfire.

Next followed a five course menu - wild mushroom butter with charred flatbreads, gorse-smoked scallops with wild boar bacon jam, squirrel and black chanterelle ragu with fried truffle gnocchi, wood pigeon with pickled blueberries and elderberry jus and grilled pears basted with brown butter served with mascarpone, hazelnut crumb and wood sorrel. Pudding was paired with an appropriately autumnal Sloe Gin Sour.

Follow Fire + Wild’s adventures on instagram and sign up to their newsletter for new events.

Fire and Wild dinner at sunset (Daisy Saul)

Fire and Wild dinner at sunset (Daisy Saul)