Photo courtesy of Andy Gricevich
Unique, rich, and rare flavors can be found right in our own backyards if we look close enough. Andy Gricevich has been exploring nature’s nooks and crannies for years, gathering a variety of wild-grown fruits, vegetables, and other plants and transforming them into fermented hot sauces, jams, and more.
Andy first learned to forage as a child, picking blackberries and morels just for fun with his father. After moving from Illinois to Southern California to pursue a music career, Andy realized that he longed for the wilderness and seasonality of the Midwest and relocated to Madison. With a keen eye for nature’s hidden gems and a growing interest in wild foods and fermentation, What Got Gathered was born.
“I moved back to the Midwest after eight years in San Diego and I really just sort of got deeper into the local landscape, and started getting obsessed with wild food,” Andy shared. “In playing with fermentation I made like some really excellent hot sauce very easily, and was sharing it with all my friends and realized I could probably sell that stuff.”
Photo courtesy of Andy Gricevich
For Andy and his partner Nora, What Got Gathered is an endeavor for community building and education just as much as it is a business venture. Before COVID-19 restrictions were implemented this year, Andy enjoyed hosting group walks where he introduced people to the wild foods in their own communities. Since then, he began to offer solo nature walks.
“It's actually been a really good year for private walks. A lot of people want to get out and learn about plants, be outdoors, and add this connection and awareness of what's all around them to their lives,” Andy explained, “you know, to transform the wall of green of plants that nobody knows into the stuff that really stands out.”
Photo courtesy of Andy Gricevich
While Andy does much of his foraging in the local Madison area, he travels across Dane County to gather the season’s freshest plants, fungi, and other wild-grown delicacies. Though he’s always crafting his specialty hot sauces, Andy seeks out seasonal fruits and vegetables as well.
“Right now it's high wild fruit season so I'm going out every day and getting wild plums and wild grapes and elderberries and juicing them and turning them into jellies and sauces,” Andy shared. “Right now I have something like, you know, 20 gallons of wild grapes.”
Photo courtesy of Andy Gricevich
While foraging can often be a solo endeavor, What Got Gathered has blossomed thanks to the help of Andy’s family and friends who are always helping in the process. He’s also connected with fellow foragers in the Madison area to learn and build community.
Now in his second year at the Monroe Street Farmer’s Market, Andy embraces the camaraderie and collaboration between vendors.
“Being part of that public engaged space, you know, I tend to come away from the market feeling really good and wanting to hear everybody's story,”
Looking ahead into the fall season, Andy is excited to harvest mushrooms, nuts, and continue to connect with fellow Madison residents and encourage curiosity about the nature around them.
“What I'm excited about is education, more than anything else I guess you could call it, education and community building. And more imaginative cool products. I like making this stuff.”
Be sure to visit the Monroe Street Farmer’s Market on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Edgewood High School.
For more information on What Got Gathered, visit their website: https://whatgotgathered.com/about/