The MOFO Story

Mother Forager ~ aka MOFO

Hello MOFO Tribe! I am Olivia Lutze, the barefoot soul known as Mother Forager.

We live on Kaurna country, in Port Noarlunga, South Australia's best beachside town snuggled amongst the reef, sand dunes, river mouth + wetland, with the absolutely breathtaking backdrop of the rolling Fleurieu hills.

We are a family of 5, plus 9 chooks, our cat Fern + too many house plants.



After a childhood of experimenting with basic chocolate creations, I made it my life goal to be like Willy Wonka + make a world of delicious edible magic! 

Cacao is my life passion, my soul plant, + I strive to bring this amazing plant medicine to as many people as possible because the plant has so much to offer us!

Plant medicines are where my path has lead me to. All the diverse aspects of knowledge gained throughout my career + life were meant to be for this, for MOFO, so I can forage, grow, create the medicine + offer it to you, my tribe.

Knowledge is not something that should be held onto, but shared far + wide so it will never fade away.
My knowledge is to be passed on to everyone wanting a piece of it!
I am SO grateful to all of the arsehole chefs + genuinely incredible people who have molded me throughout my young pastry chef days.
You taught me to be extremely resilient, strong willed + hold my head high knowing that I am quality regardless of those always trying to bring me down.

Career

At 15 I left school for a Baking apprenticeship. I knew I wanted to be a pastry chef but without a license in the Adelaide Hills baking was the only apprenticeship on offer at that time. 

My game plan was to get as much diverse experience as possible under my belt during my 4 year apprenticeship. I worked 2-3 jobs amongst full time baker life, dish-bitch, kitchenhand, waitress, bar staff, premixed breads, scratch breads, cake decorating, chocolate, traditional French, but that wasn't enough.

Straight after getting my Baker trade I enrolled to get my Pastry Chef trade, then my Chef trade!! Knowledge is power! 3 trades by 21, I was proud of myself.

During these 6 years I dabbled in small competitions like the Royal Show + won so many awards for my employers which was very satisfying as a teenager.
I then won 4 state competitions which led me to competing in 4 national competitions, Worldskills Australia + Bakeskills Australia.

In 2012 I finally won Bakeskills Australia + got flown to Ghana to experience the cacao plantations, Barry Callebaut chocolate factory, farmers kids school, community cacao co-op, shipping yards, etc.
This was the trip of my life + a life changing first connection with the Spirit of Cacao, under the humid canopies of the cacao plantation.

Returning from this trip I settled into a new head Pastry Chef position, produced 2 children, left that job for a change of scenery to The Seasonal Garden where I could finally remove myself from the unhealthy foods of my career that didn't align with my lifestyle anymore.
The kids + I moved away from the Hills...my heart...down to Port Noarlunga for love.



New skills + knowledge were craved so I went to The Food Forest + gained my Permaculture Design Certificate, then to Urrbrae for my Production Horticulture + Horticulture cert.
Mother Forager was birthed during this time. I opened a plant shop in my garage + offered free wine with purchases as we cranked the records.

The C word took the world by storm + my shop was shut a month later, leaving me with $2000 of plant stock to fill my condemned house with.

A large business placed a herbal tea order for their staff xmas gifts with me, so I ordered $2000 of aaaallll the herbs for them to cancel the order the day the herbs arrived!!!!
This forced me into a giant rabbit hole learning the wide array of benefits these plants offer, how to unlock their powers + utilise them correctly.

3 years later I am confidently creating fermented tonics, herbal tea blends, smoking herbs, steaming herbs + infusing their magic into my chocolates + any other products I dream up for medicinal + general wellbeing vibes.



Foraging

The local foraging is abundant year round, whether it be mushrooms as the days cool in Autumn through Spring, edible weeds galore from the end of Winter through to Autumn, lush wild flowers, pristine coastal seaweeds, roadside fruit trees left for the birds, aromatic plant waste from locals year round for essential oil / hydrosol / incense making.

I love it all!! The crazy abundance surrounding our every day lives, we simply just need to tune in + nature provides.

When I was still an apprentice, the plants started calling to me, to learn to utilise them like no one I yet knew. I wanted my desserts + dishes to have different appeal + intrigue people, sparking their interest to get to know their food more, to seek more of a connection with it.
This was when I started experimenting with native ingredients + fell in love. It was a snowball effect...I must learn ALL the wild foods!
Living in the Adelaide Hills growing up, I was completely surrounded by an abundance of constant wild produce to forage which soon became my life.
I was suddenly a forager, identifying new edible mushrooms every Winter, then consuming them the following, learning what edible weeds grew in my backyard, down the creek + beyond.



These days I offer private + group forages during mushroom season, the lush spring weed season + during the hot summer days abundant with fruits + flowers.

Contact me to enquire about your dream forage anytime...or you may need a forager for an event to guide your guests, your family camp, or a party/celebration with that different aspect!

Cacao Circles

We now hold space to nourish + educate you on all things cacao. I offer bespoke circles incorporating chocolate education / tastings, foraging experiences, cacao painting, herbal tea blending, essential oil blending, tie-dying, or anything!
Our circles are suitable for everybody. We can provide ceremony for mums n bubs circles, women's circles, mother blessings, birthdays, hens parties, workplace activation, weddings, etc.