Flavour Fred Events

Flavour Fred Events Showcasing wild flavours and their history across the UK. Events (London/Sussex) Wild Food & Drink Please see https://www.flavourfred.com/private-hire/

Other than my own events and drinks available at www.flavourfred.com. I also really enjoy bespoke sessions and provide private booking via the contact form below. So, if you are looking for a special and memorable experience incorporating foraging for flavour, preservation techniques, fermentation, wild booze and the history surrounding them then I have plenty of options and ideas to make a memorable event. Whether its a get together, dinner party, corporate event, team-building or even bartender & chef staff training sessions I’d love to hear from you.

14/10/2026

SPOOKY ALBINO WEREWOLF MUSHROOM 🐺🐺

I stumbled upon the white Elfin Saddle (Helvella crispa) bursting out alongside paths in a deciduous woodland. It seems to thrive in the fringes, often near where rotting leaves are piled up in the soil. It resembles an albino werewolf emerging from the ground, making it an appropriate subject for Halloween. While most sources claim this fungus is inedible and poisonous, there are those who suggest cooking it well and discarding the water or even avoiding breathing in whilst cooking. This method is risky and given the tasting notes are poor I think why bother.

The origins of Halloween can be traced back to a religious Pagan festival called “Samhain,” an ancient Celtic spiritual tradition that marked the beginning of the dark half of the year. During this time, barriers between the physical and spirit worlds were believed to break down, allowing for interactions between humans and beings from other realms. I always spot this around Samhain and it speaks to me reminding me of this important period in the calendar

This otherworldly-looking mushroom is often described as “globular with lobes,”. One of my favourite descriptive terms as i think of it exploding and howling from the forest floor. Its presence alone is spooky enough, and it contains a dangerous compound called “Gyromitrin.” When heated or placed in acid, Gyromitrin forms “monomethylhydrazine,” a fuel used by NASA to power rockets. Interestingly, another genus known for this compound is “Gyromitra,” which is closely related to “Helvella.”

Well, there it is, a werewolf erupting from the underworld, named Helvella. That’s my contribution to today’s festivities. I’ll probably skip the pumpkins and instead focus on turnip carving, offerings for faeries, and imagining shape-shifting creatures.

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sahmain hallowseve spooky scary mushrooms funghi fungi outdoors gyromitrin monomethylhydrazine rocketfuel nasa mushroomchat ukforager flavourfred

13/10/2026

MUSHROOM COOKING METHODS & FLAVOUR-LED WALKS 2027
With
(Ticketed Event) LINK IN BIO OR https://www.flavourfred.com/meet-vour-ingredients /fat-fox-mushrooms/

FAT FOX 2027 DATES

Sunday February 28th
Sunday March 29th
Sunday April 25th
Sunday May 30th
Sunday June 27th
Sunday July 25th
Sunday September 5th

I’m verv excited to have these hands on workshop stvle sessions over at Fat Fox Mushrooms HO. Spanning 4 hours with a flavour-led walk. snacks and tasters throughout ending with a workshop focusing on deriving flavour through various cooking & fermentation techniques to get the most out of wild ingredients & cultivated fungi. We will also be eating a number of sharing dishes as we makes them! No need to book dinner after

We will start with a Flavour Led Forage (snacks and tasters along the wav) from Fat Fox Mushrooms (43-53 Markfield Road. London, N15 40A around Levton Marshes starting at 2pm. After a 2 hour walk we wil workshop some techniques together leaving with a ferment of your own and a cooking technique demonstrated to get the most out of some glorious cultivated funqhi from the Fat Fox crew. Durina the session we will also eniov a selection of mv wild sodas, infusions and various tasty drinks.

Full follow up also provided.

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12/10/2026

WILD LIONS MANE
(Hericium erinaceus)

*AN UPDATE FROM 2025*

The Lions Mane Mushroom is a large mushroom that, unsurprisingly, resembles a lion’s mane. It’s very rare in the UK and illegal to pick under Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which prohibits picking and destroying the fruitbodies. If found, you should notify the British Mycological Society (BMS), as they manage The Red List for Threatened British Fungi.

We’ve recorded its location with the BMS and spoken to many involved, including Kew & Nature England. We’re leaving it be and hoping to obtain a license next year when and if it fruits again.

If it is a native strain, this could lead to its cultivation. In the meantime, we’ve added more large dead beech to the area to create a natural potential habitat.

This is an important topic because we’re seeing invasive species of fungus like the golden oyster mushroom (Pleruotus cintrinopileatus) in North America and the UK. These non-native species disrupt fungal communities and threaten biodiversity. This is because of commercial growing of the non-native strain, which releases spores into natural habitats. It was even being sold at the RHS, outdoors in grow boxes, which many people commented on the risk. Most responsible sellers now only sell it as an indoor strain.

I speculate it’s a native species because it’s growing on a 4-ton substrate, so it must have been there for some time to colonise it enough to fruit. There has also been a lot of sightings this year

You can also see its growing out of either end of the log and the top. It completely blew my mind because I’d never seen it in the wild before. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to see its growth pattern, and updated photos and videos have been included in this post showing the massive fruiting that’s occurred. It’s a beautiful and wonderful thing, and hopefully next year we’ll have a license to continue the story. It’s truly special.

funghi mushrooms mushroom rare mushroom mushrooms outdoors flavourfred responsibility responsibilitymatters walks outdoors special trees beech woodlands respect geto

Hen of the woods aka Maitake - the Dancing Mushroom 💃🏽 (Grifola frondosa)Other names include the “Ram’s Head” or “Sheep’...
11/10/2026

Hen of the woods aka Maitake - the Dancing Mushroom 💃🏽 (Grifola frondosa)

Other names include the “Ram’s Head” or “Sheep’s Head”. Regular reports of over 20kg of the fruiting body are why it makes you dance (Japanese translation) as it can be a massive haul which is also delicious.

I LOVE IT!! Due to its tender flesh, rich shroomy flavour meets tangy notes plus the quantity makes it such a great prize. I only tend to find it at the base of oaks although others have reported a couple others.

It is known as being weakly parasitic polypore meaning that it will be at the base of same trees for years to come. Medicinally lots of reports (as with many mushrooms) of lowering blood pressure, the presence of beta-glucans known as a stimulant to boost the immune system and much more. Frankly more research is required but when looking at medicinal mushrooms with new findings all the time.

It is important to note that lot of the benefits/flavour come from the substrate (the oak in this case) they fruit from so the cultivated Hen of the woods in most restaurants is incomparable. In my opinion the wild variety tastes 100 times better (after picking out debris) and I imagine medicinally it’s significantly impacted too. I have to say with this fungus wild is undoubtedly incomparable for flavour & medicinal properties over cultivated. Not knocking the cultivation of this as it’s still wonderful as an ingredient but finding it wild is a real treat. Off to a rave now for that dance owed.

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09/10/2026

Woodland Flatbread

Porcini and oyster mushrooms, with crispy oyster mushrooms cooked in a dry pan to start, then brought together with my fermented salt, pickled blackberries and a summer squash purée. Finished with a quick forage for some fresh dandelion leaves.

A lovely little treat, served on a warmed flatbread. I’ll make the flatbread from scratch next time and share that too.

Have a good weekend.

📹 .gt

08/10/2026

Brown Roll Rim (Paxillus involutus)

A deadly poisonous fungus forms ectomycorrhizal relationships with trees, including birch and other broadleaf trees, and prefers acidic soil. It was very common and considered edible until it was realised that the effects are cumulative and realised after time. In 1944, the distinguished German mycologist Julius Schaeffer died after eating a succession of dishes containing brown roll-rim. He is thought to be the only professional mycologist to have died of fungus poisoning. This just goes to show that the science is ever-changing, and we need to keep up with the updates.

Ectomycorrhizal refers to a type of symbiotic relationship between a fungus and a plant’s roots. The fungus forms a sheath or “mantle” around the outside of the root and extends into the soil, exchanging nutrients and water for sugars from the plant. This “outside” growth, without the fungal hyphae penetrating the root’s inner cells, is what gives it the “ecto-“ prefix, as seen in the RHS Gardening definition of ectomycorrhiza, meaning ‘mycorrhiza living on the outside of a plant’.

The fungus has a convex ochre cap that is depressed in the middle. The rim of the cap rolls around into the gills on the underside (inrolled). The gills are crowded and run down the stipe (stem) with a pale yellow/brown colour that bruises darker. They are decurrent. The stem is also pale brown/red/gold & rusty when bruises and at the base of the stipe.

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05/10/2026

PIOPPINO / POPLAR FIELDCAP
Cyclocybe cylindracea syn. Agrocybe cylindracea

This mushroom hasn’t traditionally been considered much of a choice edible in the UK, but it is widely eaten elsewhere and is particularly well known in Italy, where it is cultivated commercially.

I recently found these showing off their beautiful light brown caps. When young, the colour can be reminiscent of a Penny Bun, with the darker brown becoming paler towards the margin as the mushroom expands. The centre often retains more of the original colour, while the outer edge can become almost white with age. The caps can reach around 10 cm, sometimes slightly more.

The gills are adnate and fairly crowded, starting out pale before becoming more beige-brown as the mushroom matures. The spores are brown. The stem is characteristically tough and has a ring or skirt-like annulus towards the upper part.

They very commonly grow in clusters, often with several fruit bodies joined together at the base.

This group was breaking down a dead willow, and I’ve noticed them fruiting here at different points through both spring and autumn.

Despite the common name, they aren’t restricted to poplar. They’re frequently found on poplar, but also on willow, elder and other broadleaved woody plants.

As always, identification should be based on the combination of features and habitat rather than any one characteristic.

📹 .gt

29/09/2026

🌲 DOUGLAS FIR NATURAL SODA 🌲
Pseudotsuga menziesii

I use Douglas fir needles in quite a few ways — liqueurs, syrups, sherbets, cures, powders, cakes, creams, custards and brewing — but here I’ve made a naturally fermented soda.

I dissolve around 10–15% sugar into water, allow it to cool, then pour it over roughly 10% Douglas fir needles in a sanitised jar. I leave it for around a week to ferment.

The wild yeasts living on the needles get to work on the sugar, creating a naturally sparkling drink while giving the needles time to release all those incredible flavours.

For me, it’s orange peel meets grapefruit. Other people get lemon and lime, which is why it’s sometimes described as a bit like a wild Sprite.

Douglas fir is a fascinating tree to get to know. The soft, flat needles are usually 2–4 cm long and appear to sit in two rows along the branch, although they’re actually arranged spirally. Turn them over and you’ll see the lighter underside with its central darker stripe.

And then there are the cones. Unlike true firs, Douglas fir cones hang down and have those distinctive three-pointed bracts sticking out between the scales — often said to resemble the hind legs and tail of a little mouse.

There are several Native American stories surrounding Douglas fir, including one in which the tree offered animals protection from fire, with the mice hiding inside its cones.

It’s a North American native, where some enormous specimens can reach well over 60 metres tall, with old trees developing thick, deeply furrowed reddish-brown bark.

But for me, it’s those needles that make it so interesting.

🌲 Wild yeast.
🌲 Citrus-like flavour.
🌲 Naturally fermented.
🌲 No flavourings needed.

Would you drink a wild Douglas fir soda?

📹 .gt

ForagedFood WildFood PseudotsugaMenziesii FlavourFred

28/09/2026

BLACKTHORN — HISTORY

One of my favourite things about sloes is that there is so much more to them than sloe gin.

The wild yeast naturally found on the fruit is something I’ve been using for years. I infuse it into water, feed it flour and keep it going — eventually using it to make bread.

We didn’t always have isolated, controlled yeasts for brewing and baking. In the mid-1800s, Louis Pasteur’s work helped establish that fermentation was caused by living microorganisms, paving the way for the controlled yeasts we use today.

Before that, people relied on the wild yeasts naturally present around them.

PROPERLY BLETTED SLOE GIN

Then there’s the obvious one — sloe gin.

This year I waited until the sloes had properly bletted.

Bletting is a natural process where the fruit begins to break down and soften. As this happens, complex carbohydrates are broken down into simpler sugars, changing the flavour and sweetness of the fruit.

So rather than adding sugar, I wanted to see what the fruit could do naturally.

I treated the sloes almost like an ice w**e, allowing the naturally developed sugars and concentrated fruit flavour to do the work.

No added sugar. Just properly bletted sloes.

📹 .gt

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