Foreign & Domestic celebrated its 15th anniversary this year. Chefs Sarah Heard and Nathan Lemley have owned it for the better part of a decade. Throughout, it’s been known for sourcing fresh ingredients locally whenever possible and switching up their menu regularly to fit what’s in season.
Sarah’s also a committed forager. She forages near her home in Lockhart and heads to the Pacific Northwest/Canada each year where she brings back over 100lbs of foraged mushrooms – and then does a tasting menu with the mushrooms brought back. It’s a long way from starting her hospitality career as a hostess at Red Lobster at 16, but making food from the source isn’t new to her. “I have raised goats for milk production since I was 6. I’ve always had a lot of animals, namely chickens, and a large garden,” she tells Austin Lifestyle, adding, “I feel at peace with some untamed land and animals around me.”
In Texas Sarah says some of what she forages for includes wild stinging nettles, agarita, dandelion, wood sorrel, chickweed, mustang grapes & grape leaves, figs & fig leaves, loquats, lavender, Egyptian walking onions
juniper berries, walnuts when she’s lucky and pecans - when the squirrels don’t get to them first, and dewberries. During a visit to Foreign & Domestic earlier this year we had the most delicious Dewberry Tartine. Sarah says, “Dewberries look like blackberries, but are more floral and acidic. To me, they smell like the lobby of a Cracker Barrel, dried flowers, candle wax, & baking spices.”
While she doesn’t discourage people from foraging on their own, she does warn, “Foraging can be very dangerous,” adding, “It’s important to know your surroundings and be very aware.” She says she usually wears heavy jeans and proper boots and that long sleeves are a great idea even when it’s hot out because you may encounter things like poison ivy, which she says are a dewberries best friend, spiders, scorpions, sinkholes, wildlife, deer hunters and animal dens covered by grass. She also says there are rules & protocols to follow such as: public land is fair game with some exceptions, never cross a fence line, respect the land and leave no trace of your presence. Also leave some for the wildlife / plant reproduction. She shares that while she makes a point to always be friendly and respectful, “In mushroom foraging, things are very secretive and a little cutthroat at times. If you come across another mushroom hunter, it’s not likely that they will share any information with you, they may not even acknowledge you.”
If you prefer to have a farm-to-table meal foraged for you, just make a reservation at Foreign & Domestic. This fall you can find a Green Tomato Pie on the menu. Sarah shares the recipe and the why behind Green Tomato Pie on the next page.
For more information, visit fndaustin.com and follow on Instagram at @fndaustin. Foreigh & Domestic is located at 306 E 53rd St, Austin, TX 78751