Foraging for fungi is a fun time

Since prehistoric times, humans have hunted for mushrooms for eating. Sonoma Coast’s landmark hotel, Timber Cove Inn, invites you to forage for fungi with California’s world-renowned mycologist David Arora, author of two of the leading books on mushrooms,“Mushrooms Demystified” and “All That the Rain Promises and More …” in the stunning back woods of Sonoma County.

Arora will take Timber Cove Inn guests out on a mushroom foray to locate and forage for mushrooms in the woods near Fort Ross Vineyard.

This is a plentiful hunting ground area and visitors can potentially find chanterelles, porcini, candy caps, coral and oyster mushrooms.

After the foraging, guests will come back to the hotel for a discussion on cooking, eating and other mushrooms gathered during the forage.

Timber Cove Inn’s Executive Chef Ben St. Clair will execute a delicious dinner with the gathered fungi and pair the meal with limited-release wines from Fort Ross Vineyard.

Arora is an American mycologist, naturalist, and writer who lives in the Northern California area. Arora first developed an interest in wild mushrooms while growing up in Pasadena and organized his first mushroom collecting group while in high school.

He began teaching about wild mushrooms in the early 1970s while living in Santa Cruz.

Arora has traveled extensively throughout North America and the world, photographing, hunting mushrooms and learning about the mushroom gathering traditions of different cultures.

In addition to his written field guides, Arora has written several articles on amateur and commercial mushroom hunting, its role in the development of rural communities, and about conflicts related to conservation issues around mushroom hunting.

The forage for fungi packaget includes two night accommodations, mushroom and wine pairing dinner with Fort Ross Vineyard wine, discussion with Arora, packaging of excess fungi gathered during the hunt, and a commemorative menu of the evening.

The package is only for Jan. 4 to 6. The excursion is limited to 10 couples, or 20 guests.

Reservations can be made by calling Timber Cove Inn at 707-847-3231 or by visiting the Website at timbercoveinn.com. No previous mushroom experience is necessary.