FLOWER FRUIT FOLIAGE FUNGI
MEET FFFF
Louis Gilroy is a Forager & Chef based in York & North Yorkshire. Boasting a large profile of menu design, food design, hospitality training, foraging education & consultancy work, up and down the country.
Starting in the hospitality sector straight out of school, Louis has gained 16 years in many different food environments and has helped to push new ideas and lead teams to award winning heights.
His foraging career started merely as a hobby, snowballing as passion and within a few years, he worked as Forager & Fermentation Chef for the renowned Tommy Banks.
Since his time with the Tommy Banks Group, Louis has helped to open three successful restaurants, providing training, menu design and a deep knowledge of seasonal preservation and technique.
Past this, Louis also focuses on Foraging & Outdoor Education for adults of all skill levels, commercial training & courses open to the general public. A few events were hosted in 2025 as a test bed for public lessons in 2026.
There will be an array of courses hosted by Louis, from mushroom picking to fermentation, Wild Garlic to pickling.
WHAT WE OFFER
COMMERCIAL CONSULTANCY & TRAINING
The Four F’s find the kitchen to be their home away from the woods. Reviving traditional recipes with modern techniques & finding new ways to introduce the wild world into dishes, menus & drinks.
Working within preservation for many years has created a deep understanding of ingredient retention, low waste methods & menus where dishes feed into themselves with byproducts of the kitchen larder.
Here we offer a chance to work together on creating sustainable dishes & practices using hyper seasonal ingredients from local farms, hedgerows and woodlands.
Stocking the larders with unique ingredients, creating products to a scale that can be used through the seasons & placing everything unique into a range of accessible plates & cocktails.
With any enquiries of training plans, consultation or foraging walks for your business, feel free to contact us.
PUBLIC COURSES
A drive for self sufficiency is a big part of the mind set at The Four F’s. Lost skill sets that were once known by many have now been lost by the mainstream, with its revival being kept locked behind restaurant kitchen doors.
Our foraging & preservation courses aim to unlock those doors and bring back an older way of sustainability and self reliance.
These courses will work within the hyper seasonality of North Yorkshire, from city based hedgerow foraging, woodland walks and pickling & fermentation classes.
For more information, please go to the courses page.
SUSTAINABLE KITCHEN PRACTICES & FORAGING
TRAINING & EVENTS IN NORTH YORKSHIRE
