We Spent A Day In The Vermont Woods To See Why Foraging Is The Next Frontier In Fine Dining

Melia Robinson/Business InsiderMaster forager Evan Strusinski in rural Vermont."Organic." "Grass-fed." "Hand-picked." Once considered rare, these markers of the farm-to-table trend have become so commonplace on restaurant menus that customers hardly notice them anymore.

The new frontier among top restaurants is "field-to-table," an extreme version of farm-to-table dining that was pioneered in Scandinavia and elevates ingredients found in the wild.

Some of the most highly rated restaurants in New York - Gramercy Tavern, The French Laundry, and Momofuku Ssäm Bar among them - have hired professional foragers to supply them with the freshest ingredients Mother Nature has to offer. This brings creativity, authenticity, and quality to the menu like never before.

Field-to-table is no gimmick, says Brandon Kida, head chef at The Peninsula New York hotel's Clement. He swears that once you eat foraged fare, you'll never go back. It's the future of high-end dining.

We traveled to rural Vermont with master forager Evan Strusinski and Chef Kida to witness a wild ingredient's journey to the plate.