‘Weeds from the yard’: A seasonal salad

‘Weeds from the yard’ is a seasonal dish that has recently been introduced to the menu at Worton Kitchen Garden (WKG), an organic kitchen garden situated on the outskirts of Oxford. This spring offering was created by the chef to draw the attention of diners to some of the nutritious plants, herbs, and specifically weeds, that surround us but which few people currently consider as a legitimate source of nutrition. The dish, provocatively called ‘weeds’ rather than ‘herbs’, connects to the recent growth in the popularity of the foraging movement, as well as to the historical basis of food in Britain (and elsewhere) for the rural poor who would once have regularly foraged from the local hedgerows, woodlands, and fields. The eye appeal of the dish was enhanced by the addition of some colourful seasonal flowers. At the same time, however, it is important to recognize how tasty and aromatic many weeds are (i.e., over-and-above the sustainability angle). Taken together, the hope is that the gastrophysics approach can be used to help reintroduce the public to some of the nutritious plants that surround us via a tasty and visually-attractive dish composed primarily of what are commonly, though not uncontroversially, classed as weeds. Doing so will likely require some work to get consumers to think about weeds in a different way.