22 Oct 2021 – Fly Agaric: The Folklore, Mystique and Magic of this Toadstool – Kent UK

(UK) Fly Agaric and Friends: Explorations in medicine, food, and magic with Fergus the Forager and Courtney of Hips & Haws Wildcrafts, and Guest Mushrooms: Friday 22 October 2021 KENT UK

Register for this event by clicking here

Fly Agaric Amanita Muscaria Mushroom Foraging Ireland

We will spend the day in celebration of the local terroir through ceremony and wild food and learning about the folklore, mystique and magic of the Fly Agaric mushroom in particular, along with whatever other wild food we find on the day.

A foray coming up in Kent, UK with, interestingly, an emphasis on Amanita muscaria.
“So you think you’re changed, do you?” said the Caterpillar.
“I’m afraid I am, sir,” said Alice; “I can’t remember things as I used—and I don’t keep the same size for ten minutes together!”
What: Fly Agaric and Friends: Explorations in medicine, food, and magic with Fergus the Forager and Courtney of Hips & Haws Wildcrafts, and guest mushrooms
Where: Kent UK and a local native woodland with diverse flora, fauna and fungi
When: Friday 22 October 2021 10am until 9pm (11 hour day)
 
There is a fantastic array of wild food and fungi in October, prime mushroom season! We will enjoy a long ramble in a beautiful woodland in Kent interspersed with wild local seasonal food to drink and eat and a forage for wild mushrooms including Fly Agaric. We will learn about the allure of the iconic Fly Agaric mushroom and how to safely use it as medicine and as food. There will be demonstrations including lacto-fermentation of mushrooms.  We will also learn about any other wild fungi that we come across.
We will provide lunch and a three course wild food dinner with some exciting ingredients for the meal, as of course Fergus is incredible talented and experienced as a wild food experimentalist. He has over 30 years experience as a wild food forager, so your more advanced questions can be answered too. 
We will be starting and ending the day in a location later to be announced to ticket holders.
You must dress appropriately for a day spent outdoors, hiking boots and rain gear could be helpful. Sorry for this event no young children or dogs. You must be physically fit for a day spent wandering the wilderness with hills and uneven ground. Please bring snacks and or food to share if you would like. And a foraging basket or knife (if you have one).
How Much: €195 (Euro) £185 GBP (but payment is taken in euro) Early Bird/ €250 (Euro) £215 GBP Full Price/  Elaborate Wild food Lunch and 3 course dinner are included. 
We will be in touch with you before the event takes place to share further relevant details with those that have booked their place.
Here is a link to a podcast with Robin Harford after our last event: 
Here’s another podcast with me speaking about this incredible mushroom with Manchan Magan on RTE https://podcast.rasset.ie/podcasts/audio/2020/0909/20200909_rteradio1-almanacireland-toadstool_c21832393_21833271_232_.mp3
Here are some reviews after last years event:
“Wow, wow, wow!!! Hips & Haws Wildcraft events are a special opportunity to connect with beautiful people in an amazing space. I was fortunate enought to have the priviledge to attend a Fly Agaric event hosted by Courtney and Fergus the Forager. From the moment I arrived I felt an instant inspriation and warm welcome. We foraged in the near by woods in fun filled explorations, while learning and connecting with the many species of fungi available. The preparation and dishes we were treated to after our journey in the woods was a unique blend of heart warming tastes and enjoyable community spirit set outdoors. For a revitalising experience amongst a vibrant loving group a Hips and Haws event is the place to be.”
-Riain O’Táth
“I was lucky enough to join Hips and Haws Wildcrafts on the amanita forage day yesterday.
It exceeded all expectations I ever had. Right from the beginning the communication before the event was so helpful and made the whole day run smoothly as it ran like clockwork. I arrived and was warmly greeted and welcomed to the space along with the group. We spent the day covering so much foraging information but it felt so relaxed fun and full of adventure. I’ve attended a good few similar themed foraging events in Ireland at this point and this was possibly my favourite due to the amount of work and effort Courtney and Fergus put into the packed schedule. It was more than just an ID and forage day… it was so much more!
We not only learned about identification/ foraging but then info how to cook/preserve in many different kinds of ways like: lacto-fermentation, sweet dishes, ice cream, rice balls, savoury dishes, dumplings, pasta sauce, soup and more.
After learning all that we had a big feast in all the mushroom themed foods.
I cannot wait for the next course it was truly out of this world! Thank you for the most incredible day.
-Ashleigh Connors