When presented with an invitation to an evening of foraging and woodland dining, most of us would jump at the chance. Our Editor did just that and headed out to Chalfont St Giles, an hour north west of London, to the woodland campsite of Nomadic Dinners.
We had been prompted to arrive at 5pm to enjoy the last hour of daylight so that we could fit in a foraging walk ahead of the dinner. Upon arrival we were greeted with a cocktail, or drink of choice, which we enjoyed around a firepit with our fellow diners. The fire was a welcome source of warmth on the chilly March evening, the opening evening of the season at Nomadic Dinners (it’s closed over winter).
The campsite has a couple of large tipi style tents and covered tables too, fairy lights hang from the trees and the tents, and there are lanterns everywhere adding to the magical atmosphere of the place. It really is beautiful and I can just imagine how pretty it looks when the bluebells are out.
The menu changes with seasons
We listened with great interest to the foraging experts to talk about what could be picked in these woods and how they has prepared the delicious wild garlic pesto canapes were enjoying during the talk. We also got a demonstration of how to make it.
It was time to head to the woods on a guided walk, looking for Tree Cornered Leak, wild garlic, stingy nettles, polypore fungi and primrose flowers. It was not the day for wild garlic but we picked pretty primrose flowers to use as decoration on our desserts.
Back at camp and ready to find out what we would be served for dinner. The chef and his team had prepared a forest green and wild garlic soup served with freshly baked bread. For the main course we enjoyed slow cooked lamb with roast potatoes and broccoli, served with roasted almond flakes. The wild garlic pesto was a perfect condiment with the lamb too. Our dessert was a lemon semolina cake with a lemon cream cheese icing, decorated with the pretty with primrose flowers we had just picked.
To end the lovely evening, we headed over to the firepit to toast marshmallows and drink herbal tea made by the team.
The dinner was super delicious and had been cooked on site over wood fires and a wood fired oven. It’s amazing what quality food can be prepared in a simple forest kitchen, even for a large groups.
Enjoy woodland dining and foraging at your events at Nomadic
Nomadic hosts all sorts of events for businesses, including product launches, celebrations, away days and teambuilding days. No wonder their client list includes a a long list of businesses from SMEs, large corporations to well known household brands. It’s all about getting away from the everyday stress of city life to enjoy the serenity surrounded by nature, and sumptuous food of course. All this is within a close commuting distance of central London.
It is also a popular venue for private celebrations and even weddings. Anyone is welcome to book a dinner or a more extensive feasting experience with activities to choose from foraging walks, cookery workshops, tree planting and more.
The friendly team can also arrange for other activities such as yoga or a gong bath for your team, so do get in touch with them to discuss ideas for your event.
Travel to Nomadic Dinners
The closest station to the Nomadic Dinners woodland camp is Chalfont & Latimer and the fastest way to get there from London is by the overground train from Marylebone. Alternatively, you can use the London underground service. Please check the train times from where you are departing to ensure you leave enough time to arrive at the destination. There are several taxi companies (no Uber) in the area if you are arriving by train. The drive from the station is about 10 minutes.
We chose to drive from London SW4 which took 1 hour 20 minutes on a Saturday afternoon.
