Find food in the wild at the Big Sur Foragers Festival in mid-January
Like mushrooms and weird greens? Have a place to stay in Big Sur the weekend of Jan. 17-19? Or at the very least a pup tent?
Then you’re a natural to attend the 2014 Big Sur Foragers Festival at that gorgeous and rugged spot. A fundraiser for the Big Sur Health Center, the festival has local restaurants preparing special menus throughout the weekend based on foraged products.
A barbecue titled Firestone and Fungus at Big Sur Roadhouse is scheduled for Friday night come rain or shine — and that one, including brisket and long-cooked foraged greens, roasted mushrooms and more along with a Firestone brew, is $50 a person.
Myself, I’d sign up for the Saturday morning wild mushroom walk and talk at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park led by an expert forager at just $35. And the Fungus Face-Off that afternoon at Ventana Inn & Spa sounds like fun too, with local chefs cooking up chanterelles and other fungi for $45 a person.
Who can resist the chance to win 30 bottles of wine in your own wine barrel at the wine raffle ($10 a ticket) or peruse the goods up for grabs at a silent auction?
The big-deal Foragers Dinner will be held Saturday night at Ventana Inn & Spa. Prepared by the inn’s executive chef, Truman Jones — and guest chefs Ethan Stowell and Jason Wilson, both from Seattle -- the cost is $175 per person and includes wine pairings.
For Sunday brunch, it’s back to the new Big Sur Roadhouse and chef Matt Glazer’s Cajun-inflected California cooking.
If this all sounds like too much fun, buy an all-inclusive ticket for $240.
Tickets on sale now at www.eventbrite.com/event/5769234937. For more information go to www.bigsurforagersfestival.org.
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