Mushroom Picking Excursion - Gourmet Sauvage

Gerard shows Karen the "wood ear" mushroom

Have you ever been hiking in the woods, seen an unusual looking mushroom and wondered if it was edible?  Of course you have...and you also had a loud warning voice in your head saying "don't pick it...it's probably poisonous!"  We've all been taught to avoid mushrooms unless we are absolutely certain of what they are...so Karen and I decided to put an end to this and seek an experienced guide to show us the friendly fungi growing in our midst in Mont Tremblant.  We had seen monthly articles in the Tremblant Express by Gerard Le Gal, an expert naturalist and mushroom devotee.  We spent an October Tuesday afternoon with Gerard walking through the woods near the beautiful and historic fish farm near St. Faustin, looking for mycological treasures in the surrounding woods.

Being the week of Thanksgiving, mushroom season was coming to an end, but we gave mushroom hunting a try nonetheless.  It had been a cool and rainy weekend, which we figured would provide ideal conditions for any late emerging shrooms.  Turns out, we weren't too late at all.  Of the 3,000 species of mushrooms generally available in Quebec, we found seven of the fifty edible varieties in our three-hour excursion (the fourth hour was cooking and eating!).

Yellow root!

Getting to Gerard's location was fairly quick, about a 15-minute drive from the Tremblant area.  We were already familiar with the fish hatchery, which we had encountered during a ride on the Petit Train du Nord cycling trail.  The fish farm is stunning, comprising a set of 1930's stone buildings, one of which houses Gerard's prep kitchen for a range of natural foods.  That's where we met him to begin our hike.

We spent about 3 hours in the woods, looking carefully as Gerard helped us discern between edible mushrooms and those you should avoid.  He explained that a select few actually have the power to kill you (good to know) whereas  there are many that will just make you very sick (also good to know).  Perhaps our biggest surprise was the coral mushroom and its close cousin, the whiter "crested coral" mushroom.  These look just like coral and were growing in abundance during our visit, filling a small bag full.  Gerard noted that a mushroom expert friend of his had dismissed the corals as "one-fork", that being low on the deliciousness scale.  But we found them to be our favourite.

Gerard cooks up a batch of mushrooms!

With the woodland trek complete, we headed back to a tepee where Gerard had a gas stove ready for cooking the spoils.  Naturally, everything is just a bit tastier with a bit of butter and salt.  From the chanterelles to the honey mushrooms to the corals, all were delicious as we ate the most mushrooms we've ever had in one sitting.  This was an excellent afternoon that we would highly recommend to anyone interested in learning not just about mushrooms, but other edible delicacies of the forest.