With the Atlantic Ocean at high tide behind him, Fred Dardenne is down on his hands and knees so that we don’t have to be.

A half-hour’s drive southwest of Halifax, the veteran forager is rooting for tasty wild food, kneeling on the grassy fields of Prospect Bay and amid the rocky crevices beside the rolling waves.

Those of us taking part in Dardenne’s foraging tour are blind to all the deliciousness growing around us. But Dardenne, a Belgian-born lover of the land who moved to Nova Scotia 18 years ago and immediately started his business, sees all. His eagle eyes spot sheep sorrel and wild cranberries, caribou moss, sea asparagus and sea truffle. Soon, he’s handing out samples that are as tasty as they are novel.

Forager Fred Dardenne seeks wild edibles at Prospect Bay, N.S., not far

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