Mushrooms. Precious, mysterious, delicious, disgusting. Whatever your take, it’s hard to deny the sheer intrigue of a Chicken of the Woods foraged straight from your own backyard (on sale now at The Brooklyn Kitchen for $19.99/lb). Good friend of the store, Matt Marchese, shares a bit about his mushroom revelations and his lust for the hunt below.

Every time I find a chicken of the woods it’s like a dream come true…literally. About three or four times a month, I have vivid dreams about mushrooms growing…EVERYWHERE! I’m a weirdo.

When I was a young cook in Boston, I worked for a small country French place. Produce, meats, fish etc. came from a ton of different purveyors. We even had our own “mushroom guy” - Benjamin Maleson – an interesting guy to say the least. He’d roll up in his caravan a few times a week. Each time, showing off his finds (once with a giant Chicken of the Woods covering his face when I opened the door…it scared the shit out of me, because I didn’t know who the fuck he was), Hen of The Woods, Garlic Mushroom, Horn of Plenty, Bi-Color Bolete, and Milkcaps, these were just some of the specimens I had never seen before. I was instantly intrigued.

I didn’t like mushrooms growing up, either from the taste, texture, or underexposure from my folks but Benjamin completely changed my view on mushrooms and mycology alike. I would ask him “Hey, you think I can come out with you foraging sometime?”

His reply was always no.

At the time I thought “what a dick.” Though, nowadays, after working hard to find prime mushroom spots, I have similar responses when asked the same question.

Look for some exclusive NYC chicken of the woods mushrooms at The Brooklyn Kitchen. This week only!