MEET THE Culinary Outlaws

Orion Aon is an avid outdoorsman passionate about all things wild food! He was born and raised in Santa Fe, NM, where he became interested in mushroom hunting at a young age. He moved to Fort Collins, CO, in 2008 to study Natural Resource Management at Colorado State University, driven by his passion for the outdoors. In 2015 Orion started Forage Colorado, where he shares his love for edible wild plants and mushrooms, writes and creates educational content, and offers foraging and wild food classes.

Jesse is a forager, and he wants you to be one too! He has taught thousands of students how to bring wild food into their lives through in-person foraging classes and online videos on his educational platform, Feral Foraging, as well as Gather, his foraging app. Obsessed with developing and refining better methods for gathering and processing wild food, Jesse is always looking for ways to make foraging easier and more accessible for all. He helps his students build a strong foundation for their foraging journey.

Tim is a Consulting Mycologist for Minnesota Poison Control, Past President of the Minnesota Mycological Society, a Minnesota Master Naturalist, and a Certified Wild Mushroom Expert. Tim holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Minnesota and Certificates in Nature Education and Environmental Education from Cornell University. Ironwood Foraging Co. was founded by Tim Clemens in 2017 to offer hands-on foraging workshops to the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area. 

Cathryn and Sydney of Wild Wanders are experienced herbalists and foragers of wild food and medicine, dedicated to nurturing a deep connection with plants and fungi in Western Montana. Since 2018, they have actively served on the working board of the Western Montana Mycological Association and, more recently, the Montana Herbal Festival. Together, they craft elegant, hand-made botanicals sourced from the land and lead transformative, hands-on learning experiences aimed at empowering the next generation.

Antonin is a chef, farmer, forager, fermentation/preservation educator. With a background in Korean natural farming and gut health, he focuses on reconnecting people to seasonal rhythms through local food. Curating large community farm to table meals, supporting and hosting educational events, and sharing seasonal foraging/preservation techniques, Antonin is a steward of culture and community organizer, bringing people together to remember who and where we are.

Located in Bozeman, Montana, Chef Will trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and refined his skills at the Plaza Athénée under Alain Ducasse. An avid forager, outdoorsman, and hunter-gatherer, he brings a deep connection to nature into his catering company, which is at the heart of his work. The company offers vibrant summer barbecues and refined winter menus, with local ingredients taking center stage—foraged mushrooms, wild berries, and produce from regional farms. In addition to catering, the company bottles handmade artisanal vinegars and a line of probiotic hot sauces and barbecue sauces. Each event is infused with a love of foraging, the outdoors, and French culinary tradition.

Tyler McManus is a Montana-based chef whose work is rooted in wild food, seasonal ingredients, and cooking that follows the land rather than trends. Alongside his culinary work, he cooks for Warriors & Quiet Waters, using wild food and shared meals as a tool for healing, connection, and rebuilding confidence in the outdoors.

Classically trained personal chef based in Bozeman, Montana. 25 years of culinary experience, specializing in Montana-inspired cuisine. Graduate of the esteemed New England Culinary Institute. Owner of Backcountry Dining. Backcountry Dining offers private in-house dining, smaller catered events, brunch, high end tasting menus, cooking classes and delivered chef prepared meals.

Anna is a Montana-based butcher, writer and farmer. Originally from Oregon, Anna moved to Montana in 2019 after finishing culinary school and a master’s degree in food systems policy and natural resource management. After working as a line cook for a few years, she decided to leave the kitchen to work full time as a butcher, spending two years at a state-inspected meat shop learning slaughter and whole-animal butchery. In 2022, she started Chaos Farms which specializes in mobile slaughter and wild game processing, as well as slaughter and butchery classes. Chaos Farms is also a working farm that is home to laying hens, meat chickens, turkeys, guinea fowl, goats, four dogs, two cats and a donkey.

Chef Jaime went to Western Culinary Institute in Portland, OR, went on to be an Executive Chef in Portland, and then moved to Jackson Hole, WY to do the same. That is where she met her husband, Caleb, and began her journey with field to table and learning the whole process of truly knowing where your food comes from and sharing that with others. Jaime currently is a freelance chef, does recipe development for various conservation groups, an instructor for wild game cooking for OutdoorClass, an Ambassador for Montana Wildlife Federation, chef for Carnivore’s Kitchen for RMEF’s Bugle Magazine, and works for Wild Sheep Foundation.

Joseph Hrysenko is an avid mushroom forager and amateur mycologist. He enjoys days in the woods foraging with his wife and daughters in Montana. When not in the woods you can find him gardening and cooking for his family and friends. Over the last few year's Joseph has been growing lots of wild and culinary mushrooms in his backyard and wants to teach you how you can do it as well.

Matt Skoglund is a first-generation bison rancher and the owner of North Bridger Bison in Montana. Matt is passionate about raising bison regeneratively, using holistic methods that improve biodiversity and soil health on the land. Matt is a board member of the Western Sustainability Exchange and the Bozeman Community Food Co-op, and he is the former Vice President of the Montana Bison Association.

Poldi Wieland is the creator of Year of Plenty, a wild food and traditional foodways media brand helping people reconnect with where their food comes from. Through YouTube, podcasts, and hands-on education, he teaches foraging and resilient food skills built for people who want to rely less on grocery stores. Poldi believes that we all need to try our best to pass these old ways on to the next generation. His mission is to build more resilient people through food. He is also one of the people behind the Feral Feast.