Open WPC Meeting Y37/S1 - Foraged Feast

[William Kaimarama]

Although things had gone better than he expected last year, William still felt a knot in his stomach at the thought of running events for the Wild Patch. He was older than Elliot, sure, more experienced without a doubt, but he still somehow felt as though he wasn't qualified. Like the group would just decide he wasn't good enough to listen to, and ignore his leadership. All the newfound confidence in the world wasn't enough to shake all of William's insecurities. But he was here today, hoping to pass on some practical information in a field he actually had a bit of expertise in. As nice as it would have been to lead the club on a proper hike through the forest, William doubted the school's teachers would have seen eye to eye with his 'she'll be right' philosophy, so today's meeting felt to William like a good middle ground, playing to his strengths.

Looking around the gathered club members, it was hard not to be nervous about speaking in front of such a large group, but William gathered his courage and cleared his throat once everyone was together in the patch. "Kia ora koutou*, welcome back to the Wild Patch. While we usually focus on what we can do for plants, looking after the garden and stuff, this semester I wanna take us out of the garden, and talk about what plants can do for us." William had spent hours setting up a few tables with different samplings, and he moved closer to the first one, standing behind it. "My plant knowledge is mostly related to bushcraft, and that kind of goes hand in hand with foraging. If you find yourself trapped out in the bush for any reason, you need to know which plants are safe to eat, and which ones are gonna give you trouble. So I've prepared a bit of a tasting menu for us today." William gestured around to the tables, before turning his attention to the one in front of him.

"The other tables contain foods you might be familiar with finding in the wild.... dandelions, blackberries, all that good stuff. But I wanna point out this table specifically, because this table has native foods you might not be familiar with if you haven't spent a ton of time in the bush." William explained, before picking up a leaf from the first plate in front of him. "This one's a pretty good example. Horopito really doesn't look like something you should be eating, the leaves are waxy and tough, but it's completely safe." He smiled, handing a leaf to Elliot. The horopito leaf prank wasn't one that would work on anyone who had grown up in NZ, but he couldn't quite resist the urge to pull it on his co-leader. William chuckled at Elliot's reaction to the flavour, speaking to the rest of the group. "It is very spicy, though." He grinned, pleased his prank had gone off as planned, and gestured around to the tables. "So yeah, enjoy the food! Don't worry, it's only plants, no huhu grubs or inanga or anything. There are information cards with the plants telling you a bit about how to identify them, where they can be found, and any poisonous lookalikes."

*Kia ora koutou - Hi everyone
(Godmod of Elliot approved)

Out of Character:

Rather than list a full menu, which would be boring, I'll leave it up to your creativity what kinds of foraged foods are available at this buffet, and how they've been prepared! Your characters can stick to familiar favourites like raspberries, fried kumara, or watercress sandwiches, or branch out and try some boiled fern fronds, or kawakawa tea. Here are a few resources to spark your creativity!

Natives
1, 2, 3, 4
Non-Natives
1, 2, 3

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot had balked when William had brought up the idea of a bush hike into the forest as part of a Wild Patch event, the mere idea of having to try and keep track of the whole club making Elliot start to sweat. Thankfully, William agreed it would be too difficult to pull off, and Elliot had been quick to agree to any back up ideas that William seemed excited about.

He wasn't sure how likely it was that any of their club members were enthusiastic enough trampers to ever get lost in the bush, but even he could appreciate having the knowledge of edible plants around New Zealand. Plus it was kind of fun to get to try new things, so with that in mind, Elliot had helped out as much as he could setting up, knowing he would have to let William take the lead today. He paused when William handed him a leaf to try first. Elliot could recognize several native plants by now, but he wasn't sure about eating them, but William wasn't about to poison anyone, so Elliot gave William a smile before awkwardly putting the leaf in his mouth. The spicy taste was immediate and shocking the second Elliot began to chew, and he spluttered for a moment, giving William a bug-eyed look as he tried to decide if he should spit the leaf out or solider threw it. Eventually, Elliot couldn't chew any more, spitting the partly chewed leaf into his palm and taking a few heaved breaths as William finished the presentation.

With the club set loose to try things for themselves, Elliot tried to regain some of his dignity, giving William a look somewhere between betrayal and sheepish good humor before moving to check on the rest of the club. And maybe snag a few safer looking berries to cleanse his palette.

 

[Rosemarie Chatwin]

The last couple of wild patch events were horrible in Rose her eyes. The first one was useful at least, but she just didn’t like painting. The second event was bloody ridiculous, ruining plants for some stupid decoration was just horrible. Something that Rose was still kind of salty about. Plants should we be used for what they are made for, creating oxygen and using as food for people. Not some stupid weaving decoration that you never look at.

Rose shrugged and grabbed a succulent, hoping the other members didn’t confuse it with something to go weaving with. She walked over to the patch and suddenly smelled a fragrance of plants, fruits and some fried other somethings she couldn’t pinpoint. She listened to the leaders and Rose couldn’t be more exciting. This was what she liked, learning about plants. Not that she was planning to get deserted, but plants were made for this. Fully grown plants were made for food, either for animals or for humans.

Rose walked over to the buffet and grabbed a handful of raspberries one of her favourite. On her plate she shoved a bunch of Kūmara, watercress and some more fruits. She also grabbed some rēwena bread and used the Manuka honey on it. This event was amazing and Rose was in her element. ‘’This is epic Ana’’ Rose said to her best friend.

 

[Ana Sofia Burleigh]

Ana Sofia had thoroughly enjoyed being part of the wild patch club so far, having enjoyed the activities they had hosted in the previous year. She knew Rose wouldn't agree with her, but she had liked doing different things that included being somewhat in touch with nature. They didn't need to be taking care of plants for every event after all, there was plenty of time to do that inbetween. She was excited to see what they would be doing today as well, quickly following after her friend as they made their way down onto the grounds. Ana smiled brightly as one of their leaders explained what the event was all about, being quite intruiged by it, and couldn't help but to chuckle when the other one didn't seem to be enjoying the leaf he was given.

Once the boy was done speaking Ana slowly made her way along the table. She wanted to read all of the cards next to everything but knew that at her rate it would take far too long and she'd be in the way for others as well. Instead, she figured she'd take some things first and possibly walk back to the tables later once everyone had been to get a better chance at reading the cards. For now, she took things that looked familiar to her, as well as one or two things that did not as she figured it couldn't hurt to try something new. Ana nodded in agreement with Rose's words before turning away from the tables and looking for a spot to sit.

 

[Salem Lee]

Salem was excited to get into some activities with the Wild Patch. She had never really considered herself a gardener before, but she liked being outside and learning about new things, so she figured it would still be a lot of fun regardless. She was even more excited when William began explaining what they would be doing today. Trying new food all the time was one of Salem's favourite things when she's travelled with her parents, and after she'd gotten used to what was being served for meals at Hogwarts, Salem had been sorely missing it. She giggled when whatever leaf the other leader had eaten was clearly too spicy for him, making a point to try it herself later.

When they were let loose to try things themselves, Salem couldn't help but grab a bit of everything, glancing around to find someone to sit with. Eating alone was no fun.

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice had always loved the Wild Patch Club, but now that she was with Elliot she felt even more affectionate towards the club. She liked William too, from their limited interactions. She had been looking forward to this event a lot, and grinned at Elliot once everyone had gathered. William started the meeting, telling them they were going to do something different than usual. William spoke about foraging, which was interesting because Alice didn't really know a lot about that, even with a herbologist dad. She listened with interest as William explained what was stalled out on the table. She giggled as Elliot ate a horopito leaf, though she wanted to ensure he was okay too. She moved over to her boyfriend the moment William finished talking and put a hand on his arm. "You alright?" She murmured.

@Elliot Briar

 

[Elara Chatelain]

Elara was hoping today's event with the Wild Patch would be more eventful than Heta Omega. They hadn't really done much at their first meeting, but she did meet a nice girl to call her "sister" for the year. As she walked down to the gardens, she noticed a bunch of unfamiliar faces. She couldn't say no to eating though and was excited that they would enjoy that element of food. Elara saw one of her roommates nearby and walked up to her. "Hey Salem," she greeted after she had grabbed some food herself. "Can I join?" @Salem Lee

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars wasn't sure what to expect of the Wild Patch Club meeting, but he was looking forward to it. He couldn't believe he had seriously considered quitting the club after his breakup with Elliot. It was still not entirely back to how it used to be, but at least they were now getting along. It was one of the few clubs at Hogwarts that actually interested Lars, so it would have been a shame to give that up. The boy headed to the Wild Patch Club space and listened as William welcomed them and introduced them to the event. A feast of foraged food was a very interesting take on what the club was about, and Lars was curious. He hadn't heard about the leaf that William gave Elliot before, but the boy's reaction said enough about just how spicy it was. After William finished speaking, it was time to try some food. Lars started with a few berries, watching what others were doing as well.

 

[Nell Night]

Even having cut most of her classes, between studying and Hogwarts Monthly duties, Nell found herself struggling to juggle her schedule a lot more often than she would have liked. It was sometimes a struggle to make it to club events, but there was no chance she could just miss them. Still, it was with arms full of papers that Nell turned up to the Wild Patch, having had no time to drop them off beforehand. She shuffled over to Lars' side, giving him a smile as the meeting began. She knew Lars and Elliot had been getting back to being friends, but it still felt odd, being here with both of them together, and it was a relief that William seemed to be taking the lead on this meeting. Nell was pleasantly surprised with the purpose of the meeting, glad for the chance to grab a bite to eat without having to find extra time in her schedule, and she listened with interest, giggling when William pulled the horopito prank on Elliot, appreciating that the oldest trick in the book still worked on people who hadn't grown up here. Once he was done speaking Nell grabbed a plate and loaded it up with food, grabbing some kumara chips and watercress sandwiches before venturing to the more unfamiliar table. She picked up some fern fronds and a cup of kawakawa tea to try, before making her way back over to Lars. "So, you gonna try the horopito too?" She teased with a cheeky grin.
@Lars van Houten

 

[Blue Hoshino]

Blue loved the Wild Patch Club more than anything else at Hogwarts and wished it could happen every day. It made her a little sad that she couldn't drag Teddy to events, but her brother was probably just busy with books and Ravenclaw stuff. The club events made up for the fact that she wasn't allowed to sleep in the greenhouses, which Blue thought was totally unfair. Venomous Tentacula weren't that dangerous and Blue was confident in her abilities for surviving meetings with grumpy plant friends, but nobody else agreed with her. Blue happily bounded down to the meeting and listened in rapt attention to William speak. William was very cool and smart and Blue hoped that she could know as much about plants as he did someday. Knowing about edible plants felt very important, as there was a non-zero chance that Blue would one day wander into the bush and simply forget to come out one day, so it was best to be prepared. She'd read about huhu grubs and her smile drooped slightly as she realised she wouldn't get to try them today because she really wanted to now that they'd been mentioned. The Horopito looked pretty and Blue thought Elliot's reaction to it was funny enough that she was curious. Her entire face scrunched up as she bit into the leaf, but Blue was determined to eat it properly. William had said it was safe to eat, and she trusted that he wouldn't let Blue poison herself even if the pretty leaf made her mouth burn.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot had mostly regained his composure once the rest of the club had started to spread out amongst the tables, though he still had the chewed up leaf in his hand and a lingering burning on his tongue. "I'll live," He said gamely as Alice joined him, a little embarrassed she'd seen that, but appreciative of the support. "I guess I probably should have expected something like that from William," He added, trying to find the best way to hold his hand so it wasn't so obvious he still had the leaf. He spotted a younger student who seemed unperturbed by Elliot's own reaction to the horopito taking a brave bite and gave her a knowing smile as she powered through it a lot better than he had. "I need a palette cleanser, you wanna try anything?" He said to Alice, turning to look over some of the nearby tables they'd set up. @Alice Holland

 

[Salem Lee]

Salem looked up when Elara joined her, nodding encouragingly. "Yeah, you wanna try anything with me? I got a little of everything. I've never eaten plant-plants before, so I'm excited," She said, poking at some of the things on her plate. "I have eaten bugs before though, they can be pretty tasty," She added, just to show off her eating chops before picking up one of the fern shoots and sniffing it speculatively. It certainly looked pretty cool and had a green-y vegetable smell. "We should try this one, it looks the coolest," Salem decided, offering one to Elara before taking a speculative bite of her own. It had a familiar taste, kind of like a vegetable, but also decidedly not. It was weird, but not unpleasant, and Salem swallowed easily. "Tastes very.. Green," She managed, not having a better word for it like her mums did when they tried new food. @Elara Chatelain

 

[Connor Holland]

Connor was excited to return to the Wild Patch, having looked forward to the club's next meeting all year. The gardens were the place in Hogwarts he felt most at home, and it was always exciting to learn something new there together with his clubmates. He listened with interest as the meeting started, wondering what they were doing. It wasn't really so far up Connor's alley, but he supposed he shouldn't be upset about getting to try some food he might not have tried otherwise. He was shocked as William fed Elliot something that seemed to taste absolutely horrible, quietly glad he hadn't had much to do with the club's older leader. Once they were free to sample Connor grabbed a plate, pausing on the way to one of the tables as he saw a younger girl making what looked like a face of pain. Had she... tried the same leaf as Elliot?! "Are you okay?" Connor asked nervously, crouching down a little to get to her eye level. "Do you need some water?"
@Blue Hoshino

 

[Blue Hoshino]

Blue could feel her eyes watering a little, but she was happy she'd tried the Horopito. She now knew that eating it wasn't the best of ideas. She blinked up at the boy who had approached her and tried to remember if she could place him. Trying to learn all the names of people at Hogwarts was a fun little task she'd set for herself. She liked Connor Holland because his name was fun to say in her head and he looked like a friendly person. He probably was, if he was in the Wild Patch Club. Blue couldn't imagine mean people wanting to be around plants. She blanked for a moment before remembering that Connor was trying to talk to her. She gave him a double thumbs up as she swallowed the leaf so she could speak properly. "I'm okay!" she beamed. "Spicy leaf is very hot!" Blue stuck her tongue out of her mouth like a dog in the hopes that maybe the air would help. She'd eaten much spicier foods before, including spoonfuls of wasabi because she explicitly told not to and that was practically an invitation for Blue, so she was more surprised than anything else.
@Connor Holland

 

[Connor Holland]

Connor had seen enough from Elliot and this girl that he knew he absolutely, definitely didn't want to try the spicy leaf, and he didn't entirely believe her saying she was okay. "Are you sure you're okay?" Connor asked nervously, shifting his weight slightly closer to the table. "I can get you some water, or something else that's not spicy to wash it down?" He offered nervously.

 

[Elara Chatelain]

Elara nodded and looked at Salem's plate. Her eyes widened when the girl said she had eaten insects before. "Bugs!?" she asked curiously. She had seen chocolate covered insects before but had never had the guts to try them. "Were they... crunchy?" she asked with a laugh. Elara took the fern shoot offered to her and sniffed it as well, curious what it would actually taste like. She watched Salem take a bite and made a face at her reaction. The descriptor "green" intrigued Elara, and she took a bite after Salem. She wasn't normally a picky eater, but this just wasn't pleasant. Maybe if it was cooked, but Elara couldn't help and spit it back out into the napkin. "I think that will not be on my top 5," she giggled.
@Salem Lee

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander was enjoying this Wild Patch meeting. Edible, non-sentient plants were something he was always eager to learn more about, since Kas had mostly ruined meat for him. He sat cross-legged on the grass, listening to the Kings talk about foraged foods. He grinned widely as Eliot took a bite out of horopito, enjoying the reaction and wondering if he could convince someone outside of the club to do the same. Sully maybe, just for fun. He got up to help himself to a watercress sandwich and some random berries he thought looked delicious, pausing to chuckle at a small girl who had tried the same spicy leaf as Elliot. Yeah, that was definitely going to have to be on his list of things to convince someone to try.​