Chef Chad Hyatt has spent his career working at a constellation of Michelin-starred restaurants along the California coast. But, as a professional mushroom enthusiast, he also insists on getting down in the dirt. Why let a truffle pig have all the fun?
“Mushrooms are so mysterious, so ephemeral and fleeting,” Hyatt said. “Even the people I know who know more about mushrooms than anybody are constantly puzzled by them. Things we take for granted about everything else are completely mysterious about mushrooms. I think that’s what draws me to them: the mystery.”
In 2018, Hyatt authored “The Mushroom Hunter’s Kitchen,” a cookbook that finds a way to weave mushrooms into everything from pork belly to ice cream. Hyatt’s hobby is taking traditional ethnic dishes and finding unexpected ways to introduce mushrooms. One Hyatt classic is mushroom carbonara — not spaghetti carbonara topped with mushrooms, but carbonara that substitutes mushrooms for the spaghetti.
From Aug. 30-Sept. 2, Hyatt will offer Fungus Festival attendees a chance to learn how to forage for and cook with mushrooms. Hyatt has no menu planned — what he cooks will depend on what his foraging party can turn up.
“This is a good opportunity to learn from experts who will be there and very happy to teach,” Hyatt said. “The mushroom community in general, in my experience, is very friendly, open and sharing, so it tends to be a very good environment.”
