Tama Matsuoka Wong

Tama Matsuoka Wong was a corporate lawyer in Hong Kong, but when she moved her family to a weedy patch of ground in New Jersey, she learned everything she could about the plants on her property. Her 28 acres now boasts 255 species, none of which she planted.

She launched Meadows & More, a foraging business that supplies wild edibles to New York City restaurants. She runs educational workshops and events around the country to teach people about cooking with weeds and how to manage their own meadows.

She has written two cookbooks. The James Beard Award-nominated Foraged Flavor: Finding Fabulous Ingredients in Your Backyard or Farmer's Market, published in 2012, has over 80 recipes using wild and farmers market finds, complete with illustrations for identification. Her 2017 cookbook, Scraps, Wilt & Weeds: Turning Wasted Food into Plenty, showcases recipes by Mads Refslund, co-founder of Noma.

Matsuoka Wong has written for Food52 and AARP, and has been profiled and interviewed on CNN, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and more. She was a speaker at TedX Manhattan.

What is your desert island food?

"Chinese food: it has the most varied applications and you can eat almost anything that moves."

What is your favorite condiment?

"American wild sumac: it adds tangy, nutty, berry notes to everything from avocado toast to grilled chicken and oatmeal."