ABOUT US
Briar is the magazine dedicated to all things foraging
Hello! Welcome to Briar Magazine.
We’ve just launched (Summer 2024) – so please have a look around and get in touch if you have questions!
We have tried and tested recipes and guides, interviews with the pros, tips and tricks from wildcrafts to wellbeing, plus heaps of other fresh foraging content from around the world.
Our mission is to be the one-stop ‘patch’ for the environmentally-eager generation, and snagging like a thorn, we’re here to pull you further into your sustainable living journeys.
Meet the team!
Editor-in–Chief
Growing up in the countryside around the Chiltern Hills, Patrick Harrington has always been close to nature. Long, muddy dog walks and helping out with his parent’s smallholding (even if it was against his will) instilled a craving for the outdoors and he tries to explore new green spaces now in London whenever he can. Cooking, on the other hand, is not Patrick’s territory. Testing recipes for Briar has marked quite a step up from the oven pizzas and he is hoping the new habit will stick.
Favourite:
- Forageable ingredient: Crayfish
- Briar recipe: Nettle rarebit
- Month: June
Production, Design & Podcast
Half New Zealander and half Irish, Kate Balding has a love for the coast and mountains. You can find her trail running, bouldering and wild swimming when not scribbling, recording or designing at Briar HQ. Since interviewing the great Sir David Attenborough for her undergraduate dissertation, foraging has become her favourite way to connect with the planet, communities and herself.
Favourite:
- Forageable ingredient: Any wild berry
- Briar recipe: Nettle pakoras
- Month: May (for her birthday and the flower moon)
Chief Subeditor
Growing up in the coastal Scottish countryside, Rachel Keenan is used to having wildlife and wilderness on her doorstep. She loves beachy walks, birdwatching and is a bit of a foodie so is enjoying trying all Briar’s recipes. Despite spending much of her childhood at the beach and in woodland she has only found a real connection and appreciation for nature in the past few years – you don’t know what you have until it’s gone!
Favourite:
- Forageable ingredient: Elderflower
- Briar recipe: Garlic fried rock samphire
- Month: May (for delicious Elderflower!)
Business & Food
Growing up, Aysha Imtiaz went to 17 schools across three continents. She has a soft corner for weeds, believing their pervasiveness is testimony to their resilience and tenacity. She enjoys experimenting with UK-foraged ingredients to whip up diverse cuisines and sharing her burgeoning foraging forays with her three young children (sometimes to their dismay).
Favourite:
- Forageable ingredient: Dandelions
- Briar recipe: Nettle brownies
- Month: October
Social Media & Video
From sledding down hills in winter to hunting for butterflies, adders and slow worms under the summer sun, much of Rupert Birkett-Eyles’s childhood was spent in woodland. His first experience of foraging was being sent out by his mum to gather fresh blackberries for crumbles, pies or jams and he still enjoys long walks to clear his mind or a week fishing in the Cornish seas with friends. He likes nothing more than cooking up their catch on the BBQ with a cold beer.
Favourite:
- Forageable ingredient: Elderflower or marigolds
- Briar recipe: Wildflower-infused cordial
- Month: August