About Fungi Foret

Hello there and welcome to www.fungiforet.com – a celebration of foraging and eating mushrooms –  à la française !

Brittany has the perfect climate for wild mushrooms. They grow in the woodlands, pastures and roadside verges. The French know what a culinary delight many of the edible varieties are and can regularly be seen returning from their forays with a basketful of this natural bounty.

Over 3,000 varieties of mushroom can be found in France and the large number of forests and woodlands, alongside the climate means that the fungi season in Brittany yields a wide range of high quality mushrooms over a longer period of time, than in the United Kingdom.

Everything about Brittany is distinctive, from its geography and its granite looks to the quality of the food, the friendliness of the people, to its traditions and its language.

The Food – Breton is one of the gastronomic capitals of the world, offering a wide range of cuisine, from the Breton speciality the gallette, to Cotriade, a fish stew traditionally made from conger eel and famous seafood platters. Breton cuisine is simple; taking advantage of its variety of locally farmed meats, such as Guémené’s Andouille, locally produced fruit & vegetables and freshly caught fish.

The People – Breton people are especially friendly and welcoming and very seldom walk past without saying “Bonjour”. They have retained many customs and traditions, which they jealously maintain; indeed, more than three hundred festivals and events are held across the year, be they local religious or cultural celebrations, major international events, or locally based food festivals.

The Landscape – a patchwork of fields covers large swathes of Brittany, with twisting rivers breaking up these agricultural landscapes. Their valleys are wooded, indeed much of central Brittany is covered with woodland and forests; providing an ideal habitat for mushrooms.

Fungi Foret is a project to celebrate the region’s landscape, its people and its food through providing the opportunities to develop the unique properties of edible fungi.

Specifically, the project delivers:

* Organised Fungi Forays and Fungi Weekends;

* Fungi Nights in local Bars and Restaurants;

* Cooking Workshops;

* Drying and Preserving Demonstrations;

* Fungi Foret Branded Recipe Cards;

* Champignon Gourmand” Cook Off Competitions;

* Photography and Art competitions;

* An Annual Fungi Festival.

Fungi Foret weekends: These five-day long weekend breaks, based in Brittany’s spectacular Vallée du Scorff, offer an opportunity to forage for wild mushrooms, identifying which you can eat and which you should avoid.

Led by a team of environmental interpreter, naturalists, fungi-expert and fanatic, these breaks are ideal for the beginner, enthusiast, expert forager, Francophile or gourmand.

In short, anybody with a love for the outdoors, food, culture and a simpler, more rustic, way of life.