If you aren’t from South Florida or perhaps the Bayou then you have noticed how hot and humid the weather in the high country has been lately. For most people that means turning on their AC units for the first time or floating down the New River in their favorite unicorn float.

For me it means getting out into the humid woods and foraging up some delicious ingredients for Reid’s Cafe.

What does foraging in the high country look like?

Foraging in the Summer is dynamic and plentiful, and usually kicks off around Fathers Day every year. We will head out into the forest to check a couple of secret “early spots”. As we walk around these secret forested valleys we keep our eyes peeled for little splashes of bright orange on the forest floor. If we are lucky we will see the very first flush of Chanterelle mushrooms pushing up through the moss and leaf litter. This is what we wait for every year.

This sounds beautiful, and it is, but don’t be fooled, It is laborious. While foraging we walk through about a million spiderwebs, get scratched up big time from thorn bushes, get chased by Bald-Faced Hornets, check for ticks every dozen steps, and sweat through our clothes in just a couple minutes …Oh, and the Snakes, we don’t like to talk about the snakes. But, it’s so worth it!

Chanterelle Mushrooms are my favorite Summer Mushroom, they have a lovely apricot-y smell and are so vibrantly orange and not to mention they are plentiful! In the kitchen they are meaty in texture, floral and earthy in flavor, and are very fragrant in the saute pan. Our Chef, John Ortiz serves them up in many different ways, Chanterelle Rice, Pickled Chanterelles, Chanterelle pastas, these mushrooms are so versatile!

On a good day in peak season we can usually harvest 10 pounds of Chanterelle mushrooms and about the same quantity of “by-catch”. What is the “by-catch” you may ask? Where to start! Master of camouflage Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Fishy smelling but delicious Milky Mushrooms, sneaky and rare Hedgehog Mushrooms, the brain looking Cauliflower Mushrooms, and so so many more!

Mushrooms certainly are the most fun foraged ingredients that we harvest for the restaurant, but we also forage various greens such as Sochan, and Nettles, and wild fruits.

Foraged foods are a great way to excite the restaurant staff and our guests, these wild ingredients bring new flavors, colors, and textures to our table from Spring to late Fall. Come see for yourself why we are so excited about the High Countries Summer Foraging Season!