According to the provincial government there are 33 species of wild edible mushrooms in B.C., out of over a thousand listed species catalogued across the province.
Many of those edible mushrooms species can be found in Whistler, while the other non-edible species of the fungus often play important roles in the surrounding ecosystem – some mushrooms in the Interior have even formed a symbiotic relationship with the roots of local surrounding trees.
With mushrooms growing practically everywhere in the valley, the Whistler Naturalists hosted their first mushroom festival in 2003, which drew more than 40 people. The 2004 event was even bigger, with over 50 participants, and organizers are expecting an even bigger turnout for this year’s Fungus Among Us mushroom festival, Oct. 14-15.
The festival includes presentations by renowned mycologists (mushroom experts) on Friday, followed by organized mushroom walks Saturday morning. At 1 p.m. local chef and mushroomer Ophra Buckman will be putting on a mushroom cooking demonstration using locally picked varieties, as well as some special varieties donated by Nesters. The festival closes with a display of all the local mushroom varieties that were picked during the morning walks, including tips on how to identify them in the field. Last year 81 different species were found within a few hours of walking in the Emerald Forest.
"Last year was a big success, it was a great year for mushrooms and we had great presenters and good attendance," said Bob Brett of the Whistler Naturalists. "This year we have a similar lineup, Andy MacKinnon is back and he’s a great presenter. We also have Adolf and Oluna Ceska, who are phenomenal mycologists. They were in Whistler earlier this summer cataloguing plants for the biodiversity inventory and I was impressed by just how incredibly knowledgeable they are. If there’s anything rare or unusual, they will find it."
MacKinnon and the Ceskas will also guide the mushroom walks on Saturday. Brett is hoping to use areas that were not used in the previous two years, which will bolster the biodiversity inventory he is currently working on for all of Whistler.
"It occurred to me last year, when all the species were laid out and labeled that this is what a biodiversity inventory looks like, so that data can be added to our collection and to the community habitat mapping," said Brett.
People are asked to dress appropriately for the weather, and to leave the buckets at home.
"We’ll definitely be collecting sample species, but the idea is not to clear out the forest of edible mushrooms, but to learn more about the mushrooms, what they look like and where to find them," Brett explained.
The cooking demonstration is also popular – while there may be 33 edible species in the province, a lot of those species may not even seem all that edible unless they are prepared correctly.
Ophra Buckman first got into mushrooming with a roommate, and has been picking and cooking local mushrooms for 10 years. "In Europe everybody knows what kinds of mushrooms to pick, what’s edible and they eat them all. Here, we don’t know how to identify mushrooms, and even when they’re already picked for us and on sale at the local grocery store, we don’t know how to prepare them," she said.
Part of the joy of mushrooming is taking long walks into the forest, something Buckman says she wouldn’t do nearly as often if she wasn’t looking for mushrooms.
She hasn’t decided what kind of mushrooms to cook this year, but will wait to see what they come across in the field.
Buckman owned Auntie Em’s in Whistler Village until about four years ago, and currently runs the bakery at North Arm Farm and works at Cracked Pepper.
Cooking exotic mushrooms for 50 or more people isn’t easy, but Buckman is impressed by how much the festival has grown in the last few years.
"It’s exciting that people are taking an interest in the mushrooms, because it’s the same as taking an interest in the local environment. It also opens up a lot of possibilities for people who might find themselves in Nesters with no idea what to do with a lobster mushroom or even a pine mushroom. It’s fun to try all the different types in different recipes, because they are so different from one another," she said.
Fungus Among Us gets underway on Friday, Oct. 14 with slideshows at Myrtle Philip Community Centre by Andy MacKinnon, and Adolf and Oluna Ceska.
The mushroom walks take place on Saturday, meeting at 9 a.m. at Myrtle Philip, and will run until noon.
Ophra Buckman’s cooking demonstration will take place at 1 p.m., also at Myrtle Philip, and a display of local mushrooms will be open until 3 p.m.
Tickets to all events are $25 for Whistler Naturalists members, or $40 for non-members. The Friday talk is $5 and $8 respectively, the full day on Saturday is $20 or $30, the walk is $10 or $15, and the cooking demo is $15 or $25. Kids 12 and under are free.
To pre-register, contact Bob Brett at bob@snowlineresearch.ca , or 604-932-8900.
