Take a mushroom weekend in Brittany

Press articles and visitors' comments

Fun with Fungi, Daily Express, Saturday 20th October 2001

Jane Warren joins serious mushroom-hunters on an expedition in deepest Brittany. She warms to the chase of a stationary but still elusive prey and delights in cooking up her exotic finds to share with her fellow foragers

We are advancing in loose formation across the hillside, baskets in hand, eagerly scanning the ground, when we hear the cry. A wild explosion of joy is followed by a vivacious chuckle. This is the orgiastic signal we've been waiting for so we burrow through the forest, ducking branches, towards a patch of light where Peter Novak, mushroom forager extraordinaire, is crouched over a pile of leaves.

I catch my breath. The Disney-like mushroom he has found is a monster, a thousand times bigger than the inconsequential little buttons you find in the supermarket. It is the size of a loaf of bread, with a stem as thick and solid as a table leg - a fine example of a mature cep, the king of the mushrooms, renowned for its magnificent meaty texture, creamy taste and impressive girth.

I am invited to pull up dinner by its root - it is surprisingly easy to detach from the forest floor, popping out like a dislocated limb. It weighs as much as a bag of flour and is just as solid. "Finding a perfect mushroom is better than an orgasm" someone had told us earnestly the night before.

On an unseasonally warm autumnal Saturday, Peter and Clarissa Novak have brought eight of us to a secret location in the luxuriant Armorique National Park in central Brittany to forage for edible mushrooms and, just as importantly, to teach us to avoid the poisonous varieties that can kill at a single bite. "There may be old mushroom foragers, there may be bold mushroom foragers, but there are no old, bold mushroom foragers" warns one of our compatriots. "You do have to be careful."

This is Indiana Jones for foodies. But the thrill of the hunt comes with the added advantage that you cannot startle a mushroom, however much noise you make. We are searching for cepes, fluted egg-yolk yellow chanterelles and pieds de moutons, which look like chamois leather. But although mushrooms cannot get away, they are surprisingly difficult to locate. You need local know-how - foraging is fiercely competitive and mycologists (students of) guard their hunting grounds closely.

You also need to refine your vision. The mushrooms may be magnificent but they are well camouflaged and blend easily with the pine needles and fallen leaves. At first glance there are no mushrooms, edible or otherwise, to be seen. Peering deep into the undergrowth is supposed to help but after a fruitless hour of wandering around tree trunks with double vision, I am still a mushroom virgin whilst other hunters' baskets are filling up.

Clarissa suggests I walk down a shady bank next to a sunny path. "The earth is damp, the air is warm" she explains. Then I see it - a pert, proud little cep sprouting from a nest of moss. I let out an excited squeal to register my find (you can calibrate the size of the mushroom located by the noise made on discovery). I dust it carefully with a brush to disperse the spores and to stop dirt falling into the delicate gills before laying it proudly onto the bed of moss in my trug (a shallow wooden basket).

The Novaks have been running mushroom trips for seven years from Le Manoir de Prevasy, a 16th-century stone manor house near the town of Carhaix Plouguer in the heart of Brittany. Bought as a ruin, they restored it themselves to sleep 12. There are ancient oak doors, gothic doorways, exposed stone, lime plaster and a magnificent creaking original oak staircase. The antique furniture and objets d'art are the result of bargain hunting in local markets. Five other buildings, including a semi-derelict chapel, are also being restored.

Mushroom hunting weekends are held in September and October, peak season. The emphasis is on fine food and good fellowship. Our group, including a couple who sell oriental carpets and two genetic engineers, are real characters united by their passion. "Mushroom hunting makes you aware of the seasons like nothing else" says one of the genetic engineers who demonstrates a remarkable ability to find the biggest mushrooms in the forest. "You wait for summer to turn to autumn and for the mushrooms to show themselves".

After a hearty al-fresco lunch we undertake a second hunt before preparing our bounty over tea and Breton biscuits. The trugs are unloaded onto an ancient slab of elm and we gloat over our treasure: a full 12kg of forest fruits. London chefs will pay £35 a kilo for these but we prepare to eat the lot. Some mushrooms are dried whilst others are chopped straight into a casserole dish for dinner.

I feel inspired to cook sparrow-sized portions of risotto as a pre-starter, using chanterelles and several skinny purple amethyst deceivers that my husband found. Cooking with food we have found ourselves, and serving it up to sighs of approval, is profoundly satisfying.

Getting there

Getting there:
Mycologue (020 7485 7063/www.mycologue.co.uk) offers three night mushroom hunting breaks to Le Manoir de Prevasy from £185pp (two sharing). Includes full board with guided excursions. Ryanair (08701 569569/www.ryanair.com) has return flights from Stanstead to Dinard from £71pp. Holiday Autos (0870 400 0011/www.holidayautos.co.uk) offers three days' car hire in Brittany from £78 when booked online (£5 saving).

If the cep fits, pick it, Daily Telegraph, Saturday 13th November 2001

Ben Woolf takes a mushroom hunting break in Brittany

When your home is a building site, as ours is, wandering through the woods in the tipping rain is actually a glorious diversion, as long as there is a hot bath and a clean bed at the end of it. So when a mushroom hunting break at at the Manoir de Prevasy in Brittany was suggested, I was very keen to go.

My wife and I headed over to Prevasy from where we live in Mayenne. We arrived at the beautiful manoir - which our hosts Peter and Clarissa Novak bought as a ruin ten years ago and have single-handedly restored - to find the starters already on the table. Surprisingly, there were no mushrooms. We were just beginning to get concerned that perhaps there might be something wrong with this year's harvest when Clarissa reassured us that the next day we would have more than our fill of mushrooms. Due to the wet weather, the woods were thick with them, but our digestive systems might suffer if we were to gorge on them two nights running.

The following day started earlier than most on holiday, but beating the locals to the best mushrooms requires the same sort of dawn scramble as getting to the best sun loungers. Twenty minutes from Prevasy - and kitted out with baskets, penknives with brushes on one end, and sharp sticks with which to poke about - we parked on a beautiful damp, rich smelling wood. Clarissa imediately took the lead, urging us onwards to "cep city".

Once there, there seemed to be mushrooms everywhere - poisonous and edible. Peter, in his quiet but authoritative manner, and Clarissa, in her more full-on way, managed to be encouraging and reassuring. Both are experienced field mycologists and are knowledgable and clear about what can and can't be eaten, and can show guests how to identify in the field. Mushroom picking can be a critical business.

A few hours later, our haul included ceps, bay boletus, beautiful chanterelles, stange little pieds de mouton with tiny spikes instead of gills, and a separate basket of rather more dodgy, unidentified specimens.

Back at the manoir, Clarissa soon had us working away. First the mushrooms were brushed (not washed), then the large boletus had their pores and stems removed, before being sliced and arranged on racks on the wood-burning stove to dry. We had already put some of the smaller ceps (better for frying) on one side, to take home. And before settling down to a sumptuous dinner (pieds de moutons cooked with paprika and creme fraiche, served on a toasted brioche: followed by echine de porc with mixed boletus and home grown broad beans) we sat down, with various books, to identify the contents of the poisonous basket. And our going home present? A paper bag of our own dried mushrooms.

A mushroom break at Prevasy costs fro £110 per person. For information contact Mycologue, 47 Spencer Rise, London NW5 1AR (tel: 020 7485 7063). Holidays can also be booked on the internet by visiting www.mycologue.co.uk.

Visitors' comments (unsolicited emails received and guestbook entries)

I just thought I'd write to say how brilliant the mushroom break to France was. My expectations were exceeded with both the excellent habitats for fungi and the hospitality of Peter and Clarissa. I will definitely be booking for next year but this time for the two-day break....

.....it is a great new hobby and we loved our weekend in Brittany. We have several friends who are very keen to do it next year.

We are all home after a super weekend at Le Manoir de Prevasy. We love the woods and the thrill of the hunt. There were ceps in abundance and I expect the yield for this coming week to be even more prolific. The Novaks were charming and looked after us extremely well. We enjoyed every moment.

Spongy bottoms, Badius, Goodius and Yellow Plasticus - all endearing memories of a super few days.

Super break, all that we expected and more.

Plenty of mushrooms, lovely house, great cat!! Very relaxed; thanks.

Now we have experienced "all that the rain brings and more". A very special three days which was most informative and very, very enjoyable. Thanks for a weekend with a real difference.

Everything parfait!! Had a lovely time, super house, great mushroom foray. Thank you.

Cauliflower fungus instead of ceps - but still wonderful. Thanks.

Very enjoyable weekend, lots of fun and productive too. Hope to come again.

We had a great time. Lovely mushrooms!! (and people). Thank you.

Woods will never look the same again. Thank you for sharing your house and knowledge with us - a wonderful break!

Thank you for a really super time. Hopefully we will remember what we learned and will be able to write in this book again!!

Ceptacular!

'Cep'assed all my ex'cep'tations. Thank you.

All the best cep puns have been picked! We had a truly delicious time with you all …we definitely have the bug. Thanks for a fab weekend.

The ceps were truly great this year. We had a wonderful time, resulting in our falling in love with the area, mushroom picking and your beautiful home. Thank you for looking after us so well.

Very interesting, enjoyable and fun. A perfect way to spend a wet weekend!

I had been looking forward to this break for a very long time and still my expectations were surpassed. An excellent mushroom hunt and fabulous food - I will be back next year I hope.

Thank you for your expertise and hospitality.

Champi(gn)on!

Superb weekend - thanks - ceptastic!

Ceptacular weekend in a lovely setting, fantastic food and great company. What more could you ask for?

Loved the cep hunting. Particularly enjoyed finding out about what we can't eat!!

Food, fungi, friends and fun! See you next year!

Excellent food, splendid company. A really special holiday.

A transition from complete amateurs to potential world champignons in one brief but wonderful weekend.

Thanks for a great weekend. Will never look at a mushroom the same way again.

It was fantastic!

As amateur Amanita eaters
We booked in at Clarissa and Peters'
For a foraying weekend
It's got just the right blend
We even got fed on Boletus!

A marvellous country house weekend with superb, thoughtful hosts and a proliferation of mushrooms - the next venture must be a specialist restaurant with Clarissa at the helm.

We loved everything: the ceps, the countryside, the company, the cooking, the cat, the climate, the cider, the cheese, the conversation. We hope to be back soon. Many thanks.

The hen of the wood
Is very good
But the beefsteak
Is a great mistake.

D'Accord! Gets better every year! Wonderful weekend, exercise, good food, good company and some excellent fungi. Thank you.

Fantastic hospitality, food and accommodation. Clarissa and Peter's enthusiasm was highly contagious.

Thank you both for a great alternative weekend.

Thank you for the welcome, the good company and the imparting of knowledge. We've learned a lot.

Very enjoyable and fruitful weekend. Thank you both for a lovely few days hunting ceps with good company in wonderful surroundings. We will be back for more.

There was a young girl call Clarissa
Who spiced up her ceps with harissa
To eat a deceiver
Did nothing but grieve her
But when we all leave we will miss her!

There was a young mycologue, Peter
Who never would pick Amanita
"With Agaric you fly
With the death cap you die"
But his manoir could not have been neater!

Thanks for a lovely and informative stay. Fabulous food, fantastic hosts.

What a great adventure I've had! Many thanks.

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