Nowadays, when Michelin-starred chefs garnish a dish with delicate nasturtium flowers or wild fennel, it’s difficult to imagine these foraged goodies in any other context. From Rene Redzepi’s Noma in Sweden to Massimo Bottura’s Osteria Francescana in Emilia Romana, foraged herbs and leaves are synonymous with fine dining. 

But as we set out into the depths of the Tuscan hills with local forager Franco Lodini one morning, he reminds us it hasn’t always been this way. For a long time, living off the land was a way of survival in rural Tuscany. “Foraging was the domain of the women, and their knowledge was remarkable.”