Have fun with fungi at festival
Admire, eat, wear and be inspired by mushrooms at the Mycological Society of Marin's fourth annual Wild in Marin Fungus Festival.
The event, which organizers hope will help cultivate a passion for wild mushrooms in Marin residents, takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 6 at the Mill Valley Community Center.
The big news this year is that California just designated the beautiful golden chanterelle as the state mushroom. It grows in Marin, among other places.
“It was voted to be California's state mushroom by members of all of the California mushroom societies,” says Xander Wessells, current president of the Mycological Society of Marin. She and her husband, Kevin Sadlier, own Green Jeans Garden Supply in Mill Valley and co-founded the society.
“Cantharellus californicus, a mycorrhizal mushroom, meaning its mycelium is connected to the roots of its host tree, can be found in Marin County associated with oak,” she added.
Chanterelles are all true wild mushrooms and have never been cultivated, she says, adding that, according to the “California Mushrooms” identification guide, the worldwide chanterelle commerce is worth more than 1.25 billion dollars annually.
At the festival, there will be live folk and bluegrass music, tables of identified wild mushrooms, an invitation to bring in mushrooms you'd like identified, a vendor fair of mushroombased products, including wild mushrooms, tinctures, food, art and clothing, and a mushroomcentric raffle.
Chefs will sell mushroom menu items including wild chanterelle soup, porcini-dusted grilled cheese, matsutake Tom Kha Gai (Thai coconut soup with mushrooms), truffle popcorn, chanterelle latkes, wild mushroom risotto, mushroom leather and black chanterelle/ yellowfoot quiche.
On the stage, Chad Hyatt, author of “The Mushroom Hunter's Kitchen,” will share techniques, recipes and tips for cooking with wild mushrooms at noon and Noah Siegel, co-au