Winner in the Goole & Howdenshire Business Excellence Awards 2019
Local woman serves u wild wonders on TV Local woman Angela Long, 31 from Gilberdyke, has recently taken part in BBC cooking show, MasterChef
Angela’s love for foraging and the wild is a huge theme in her cooking and Our Goole caught up with Angela to find out more about herself and her experience on the show. How long have you been cooking for? I’ve been cooking since I was a child, but really got more passionate when I had children of my own. I wanted to make sure they had the best start to life and had a varied diet. As a family we have various insects as pets, giant millipedes, whip scorpions, rainbow stag beetles etc. The study of insects (entomology) was a passion of mine that spread to my children. When I was out on bug hunts with them it helped to know what the surrounding plant life was because that often indicated what we’d find. I recall taking my children out and spotting some mushrooms, so I knew that environment was soil rich and damp = lots of potential beetles, millipedes, snails etc. I knew the trees nearby were birch trees so I researched the mushrooms. Page 6
They were birch boletes and edible. So, I took some home and tentatively cooked them for me alone (not my children). As time went on, my knowledge and confidence in foraging grew and I involved my children in cooking and gathering only what I was sure was safe for them. Who is you biggest inspiration? David Attenborough. He’s not a chef, I’m aware, but I respect his love of nature and respect for wildlife Heston Blumenthal. He combines science with food, and he isn’t afraid to be different, I love that message for my children. Be you. Regardless of how wacky that may be. Why did you apply for the show? I applied for the show for two reasons. Firstly, because it had been a dream of mine to experience something I’m passionate about. Most importantly, it was to inspire my daughters. Ella and Daisy were both struggling to settle back into school post-Covid and I really wanted to show them they could achieve anything they put their mind to... even midpandemic.
