Wild mushrooms captured my imagination in May of 2011, when my then client, Michelin starred chef Daniel Boulud and I stood in a restaurant kitchen, ceremoniously cleaning sand from a caseload of morel mushrooms delivered by a purveyor of wild harvested plant food and fungi.
Given the anticipation and reverence inspired by the special delivery, I was curious to learn about the tiny brown morels with Smurf-like honeycombed caps and distinct aroma of forest understory.
Daniel explained that French chefs in particular treasure morels almost as much as they do truffles. I was enchanted, and soon learned that, not only do all foraged culinary mushrooms belong to an elite kingdom in both taxonomy and in our imagination, but they share more DNA with humans than they do with plants.
I’ve since nerded out about mushrooms, and for days on end have ventured far out of my way to forage with learned and amateur mycologists. I don’t yet trust myself entirely to forage solo for edible fungi, so I rely on experts for supply.
Earlier this week, I was privileged to attend a screening at the Rio Theatre of Shroom Boom B.C., a docu-series produced by my talented friend Stephanie Dacre, a.k.a. @myco_steph on social media. We watched episodes two and four of six, and then had an opportunity to ask questions of three leading experts from the worlds of plant medicines and mycology.
The highly anticipated raffle was saved for last, and the coveted prizes were three large boxes of the most exquisite foraged and cultivated mushrooms that I have seen assembled. For a theatre full of shroomers, these boxes ranked right up there with a tropical vacation. And yes, my ticket was drawn.
Beyond excited barely describes how I felt driving home. The cab of my pick-up smelled strongly of temperate rainforest and stone fruit, and I was transported back to that kitchen with Daniel who taught me not just about morels, but to be inspired by the seasons and to honour ingredients as they come into season by showcasing their distinct attributes.
Of course, I then considered how best to do justice to the stunning chanterelle, maitake, king oyster, oyster and cauliflower mushrooms that I had been gifted. Never before had I seen a cauliflower mushroom, other than in a photograph. They are rare in the wild, and I am told, near impossible to cultivate. I have heard from several avid foragers that they have never come upon a cauliflower mushroom.
I was perplexed. The snow white specimen I was looking at seemed impossibly perfect, with none of the black humus or fragments of leaf litter that typically accompany foraged fungi. Surely, it must have been cultivated.
Not so, I was told. David Xiao, owner of Oyster and King Specialty Organic Mushrooms, gifted the wild-harvested cauliflower, along with all of the other mushrooms, to Steph and her community because that’s what mushroom people do. By and large, mushroom people are fantastic people, so if you are looking for community, get excited about mushrooms. They are family after all.
I kicked off wild mushroom foraging season with an homage to the many passionate chefs from whom I’ve learned so much; a simple, beautiful feast of grilled mushrooms with thyme, nested in bison bone broth umami-bombed with wakame kelp, gently heated by Tien Tsin peppers.
Shroom Boom B.C. debuted Sept. 24 on Telus Optik TV Channel 9 and Storyhive’s YouTube channel. In this enlightening series, Steph interviews medical doctors, therapists, scientists, mycologists, chefs, artists, foragers and entrepreneurs who are unlocking the secrets and potential of fungi.
Laura Marie Neubert is a West Vancouver-based urban permaculture designer. Learn more about permaculture by visiting her website upfrontandbeautiful.com, or email [email protected].
