Mushroom Lovers’ Events & Classes – Epicuring Picks by Cindy Roberts

Thanks to Cindy Roberts, Palo Alto culinary instructor for sharing her picks for seasonal mushroom events in the area:

‘Tis the season for Northern California mushrooms and you won’t want to miss them.   The rains in the last week herald the start of the season in California so prepare yourself for some great eats.   Although I tout myself as a mushroom expert I have been humbled recently to find out 500 types of mushrooms grow wild in Mendocino County.   That will keep me busy for a long time learning about all of them.     Don’t worry if you’re too timid to forage for mushrooms yourself.

There are a few upcoming events in the area which will sell you cultivated and foraged mushrooms.   The foraged ones have been scrutinized by the experts for safety and quality purposes so you can put your worries aside if you want to go that route.

Far West Fungi
Vendor at San Francisco Ferry Building and Palo Alto downtown Farmer’s Market
Open House:  October 30,2011

Bay Area Mycological Society
They host a number of forays and have a Yahoo group to join for daily updates

Mendocino County Wine and Mushroom Festival
Mendocino County is home to over 3,000 types of mushrooms, 500 of which are edible. The highlight of mushroom season is Mendocino County’s annual 10-day Wine & Mushroom Festival (this year from Friday, November 4th through Sunday, November 13th), with everything from mushroom dinners, wine- and beer-pairing workshops, mushroom exhibits, guided mushroom foraging walks.

Sea Ranch
November 4 Mushroom Photography Exhibit
November 12  4 course tasting menu including local wild mushrooms

Wild About Mushrooms
Dedicated to sharing the joys & benefits of wild mushrooms in a safe, enjoyable, and responsible manner.  This organization has a newsletter to notify you of upcoming forays and mushroom events.

About Cindy Roberts / Palo Alto Cooking Instructor

Cindy created her Culinary Interest Group in 1989. She turned her culinary interests into a professional career in 2005 and is a Cooking instructor at Palo Alto Adult School. Cindy coaches executives and staff in team building cooking exercises, teaches private cooking courses and runs a summer cooking camp for teens. In service to the community she has run a Meal Delivery Service for families in need and works at the Food Closet in downtown Palo Alto. Cindy’s training includes coursework from Cordon Bleu and Marie Blanche in Paris and numerous schools in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Upcoming Classes: Cindy has a few more classes coming up before the end of the calendar year.  Next week on October 20th you can taste test a variety of salts from around the world.  On November 3rd, learn about traditional and somewhat exotic Thanksgiving fare.   http://www.paadultschool.org/classes/cooking.html