DLR Tourism Hosts Mushroom Foraging Event as Part of the Dublin Mountains Festival

As part of the Dublin Mountains Festival 2025, the Tourism Development section in DLRCC organised a mushroom foraging and appreciation event at Carrickgollogan Forest Trail on Thursday 9th October.

The purpose of the event was to give chefs and other providers an opportunity to learn more about the biology and culinary potential of the many varieties of wild mushrooms found in Ireland.

Our genial and knowledgeable guide for the day’s expedition was Bill O’Dea, a renowned

mycophagist (mushroom enthusiast), who regularly hosts classes and field events for all sorts of interested people.

Among those taking part in the mushroom hunt organised by DLRCC were chefs from the Eagle, Glasthule; the Queens, Dalkey; the Merry Ploughboy, Rathfarnham; and the Purty Kitchen, Dún Laoghaire.  Also attending were representatives from Lawlor Pubs, the Radisson Blu St. Helen’s Hotel, Coillte, and Electro Automation Group, the company that owns and manages both the Queens, Dalkey, and the Eagle, Glasthule.

To kick off the event, Bill gave us a concise introduction to the kinds of mushrooms we were likely to find. Naturally, he placed great emphasis on how to distinguish the edible varieties from the toxic ones.

Equipped with baskets and illustrated guide sheets, the participants set off in their various directions searching the forest trail for all kinds of mushrooms. When we returned, bearing all kinds of treasures, Bill served us his very nourishing and tasty mushroom soup while going through many of our finds and pointing out the culinary uses of each and telling us about the distinctive characteristics and tastes of the different varieties.

Ending the proceedings with a flourish, Bill then fried up some of the mushrooms we had gathered that morning, again speaking about the distinctive flavours and uses of each kind.  Everyone there, particularly the chefs, enjoyed the event and said that they had learned a lot from the day.