Would you like to collect your food? Join the professionals at these five locations

The pandemic has sparked interest in many hobbies, from cooking bread to collecting cards to making puzzles. But when supply chain shortages began to wreak havoc on what could be found in the grocery store, one of these hobbies was suddenly fostered: collecting food.

A few months into the COVID-19 pandemic, food collection teachers and experts reported increases of between 25 and 500 percent in the number of people visiting their websites and registering for virtual classes. As interest in this hobby has increased, so have the destinations where people set out to forest or other natural sites to find and collect their own food such as mushrooms or seaweed, with many new excursions being launched for guests and visitors.

Drummond Castle, Ireland - Best time to visit: spring to autumn

In Claire County, the 450-acre Drumoland Castle includes rural roads, green spaces and a beach. Local food collector Oonagh O'Dwyer leads guests of the 99-room, nineteenth-century Gothic castle, complete with its small and large towers, on an expedition throughout their residence, which has been the O'Brien family's ancestral home since the sixteenth century. First, head to the old rural corridors to uproot the roots, picking flowers, fruits, herbs and nuts, such as elderberry, walnut and St. John's wort. This part of the trip ends with a picnic to taste all these wild things in the meadow. Then, on the beach, you can take a "seaweed picnic" along with seals and seabirds and learn how to harvest seaweed, rock fennel and dulce pepper. Back at Drummond Castle, Odwyer organizes a cooking class where he not only prepares all the collected foods (such as blackberry pancakes and nettles), but also teaches participants how to preserve them (would anyone like a raspberry drink?). Budding food collectors come home with recipes and tips for learning about wild foods.

Ochoa Traditional Houses, Brazil - Best time to go: all year round

Julian Hamamoto, a nutritionist and attending physician at one of Ochoa's traditional 13-room houses in Trancoso, Brazil, leads guests through the four different biomes of coastal state of Bahia. In the entire customizable food collection experiences according to the customer, food collectors can search for fruit – such as wild pineapple or genipabu fruit – to turn into juice in a class that teaches mixing juices, or search for plants that Hamamoto will then distill into essential oils for spa treatment. There's an ice cream-focused collection trip where visitors look for specific roots and ingredients, such as sea almonds, to enhance the taste as they begin preparing their own flavors. Hamamoto relies on his own medical and nutritional knowledge on these trips, as well as information shared with him by the local indigenous people of Bataxo.

WaWant, USA - Best time to go: Summer

No day in Nantucket is complete without a trip to the bay. In Wanewnet, a 32-room adults-only hostel built in 1860, guests can take part in a journey of collecting food in water instead of land. Captain Rob McMullen, a Coast Guard-licensed boat captain, takes the groups to Nantucket Bay aboard the Lady of the Waynet, a 21-passenger motorboat. This practical outing combines sightseeing, unloading lobster fisheries, catching fish from the beach, and digging for Retsyo oysters on an oyster farm just 900 feet from the hotel. After a quick lesson on shellfish peeling and eating, a meal prepared by the chef at the on-site Topper restaurant is followed by the day's fresh catch.

Oysters are the star, but other dinner options are available, including a summer seafood barbecue and lobster rolls.

The Five Arms, Scotland - Best time to visit: All year round

At The Five Arms in Scotland, the dining experience changes as the seasons change. Natasha Lloyd, a local food university, leads participants out of the front door of the hotel, through the highland village of Braemar, to the Cluny River, and into a common forest, taking breaks to explore the plants and breakfasts found along the way. What the group has collected is later converted into tea, spices, tinctures or cosmetics. Lloyd routinely collects elderberry, plantain leaves, nettle, musky parsley and valerian, but other discoveries vary depending on the time of year. Qaisum, for example, begins to bloom in July. January is best for nuts, and September has plenty of berries.

"The coolest part is seeing people slow down and start feeling connected to plants, fungi and the local environment, and then feel more deeply connected to themselves," says Lloyd. "I love being part of an ancient tradition that still resonates in our modern world."

Casa di Langa and Castello di Casole, Italy - Best time to go: September and October

Casa di Langa and Castello di Casole, Italy - Best time to go: September and October

Italian truffles, known for their strong earthly taste with a mild flavor of garlic, are a delicacy. Guests of the Casa di Langa in Piedmont and Castello di Casole in Tuscany can not only collect their own truffles, but also enjoy them. In Casa de Langa, the road is led by local truffle hunters and their dogs of the Lagoto breed – a breed known for its ability to find truffles. While hunting, guests learn about the truffle farm's history and the traditions surrounding truffle hunting. Kitchen staff then instruct attendees on how to clean their truffle, then prepare a three-course tasting meal with truffles lined up. The entire expedition was designed by Casa de Langa's Head Chef, Manuel Bouchard, who expertly delivers the right Alta Langa wine.

In Castello di Casole, guests follow truffle hunter Mauro Nissi and Lago dogs through the countryside of the province of Tuscany to find truffles, which are then used to prepare a tasting menu of tagliarini pasta, fillet tosca (locally sourced steak) and black truffle pancakes.