[upbeat folk music] Delicious mushrooms can be farmed or foraged.

Natalie Dechiara and Luke Gilbert are expert foragers who are passionate about sharing their knowledge, stories, and excitement for the natural world.

Today, they are guiding me into the woods to search for morels, a prized springtime culinary delight.

[upbeat folk music continues] - Hey.

- Hey.

- The big day's here.

- Hey!

- How are you?

It is so good to see you.

- Great.

- So, good to see you.

- I'm thrilled.

I've been counting down the days to come look for mushrooms, but how did y'all get into this?

- Let's see.

I started foraging about 13 years ago, and I just wanted to know where my food came from.

- And so you had your own mushroom knowledge before you met, right?

- I did.

I had been foraging mushrooms, plants, fruits for about 10, 12 years.

- Yeah.

- So, you've done this before?

- Yes, but not with somebody like you.

Yeah, yeah.

- Okay.

So, I think beginner's luck still applies.

- So, into the woods?

- Into the woods we go.

- Let's go.

- Let's do it.

- All right.

[playful music] - [Sheri] So, have there always been mushrooms in the mountains?

- [Natalie] As long as time has existed, I do think there has been some form of mushrooms.

- So, do you have any idea how many varieties grow here in the Blue Ridge?

So, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, we have around 5,000 species that we've discovered.

- So, now, I've heard that you're supposed to kinda look going uphill.

It's easier to see 'em in profile.

Is there any truth to that?

- You are 100% right, Sheri.

That is the one thing I think people miss out on the most is that they try and look for morels when they are walking downhill, but morels typically are on the downside of fallen logs, branches, small shrubs, and herbs.

I think I see one right over there, actually.

- You're kidding me.

- No.

- I cannot believe you saw that that far away.

- [Luke] Well, they heard us talking about 'em and- - [Sheri] And they didn't run and hide?

- Right.

Thankfully, we were being quiet enough, but yeah, I see a trio.

- Holy Moses.

There it is.

And there's another one.

Okay, so how do you guys go about harvesting?

- If you wanna do the honors, I brought my little mushroom knife.

- Can I really?

- Yeah!

- [Sheri] All right.

So, literally, is it soft enough that I can just go down?

- [Luke] Just get some, 'cause there's a lot.

The whole stem is edible.

- There it went.

It just gave up.

Look at this baby.

It's beautiful.

- Give it a whiff.

[playful music] - Oh my goodness.

That's like all of earth, a little heaven, and four stars all in one thing, isn't it?

- Wait till they're cooked.

- I know and that's the thing about morels.

You gotta eat 'em cooked.

- Gotta cook 'em.

Morels are actually poisonous if you don't cook them.

- All right, so let's continue on the same contour from here and try and see if we can see the extent of this patch.

- Got it.

Tread lightly, look carefully.

[playful music continues] - Oh, here's one.

- Really?

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.

Yep, yep.

I think I see it.

Now, I've looked away and don't see what I was looking at anymore.

- I see that one by the log there.

- [Sheri] Yes, yes, yes.

Yes.

Yep.

- See 'em?

They're little.

They're little guys.

- Yep.

So, we've got what?

A dozen?

A good dozen?

Maybe even a baker's dozen.

That's pretty good for the time we've been out here.

- Yeah.

- So, let's mosey on back, because I wanna know what you do if you don't find any.

- We've always got a backup plan.

- [Luke] Always got a backup plan.

- Always got a plan.

[gentle music] Well, here comes the welcoming committee.

Hello, friends.

- Hey, y'all.

- [Natalie] Ava, Bessie.

- Who is this?

Hi, ya'll.

- These are our three little truffle hunters.

- I love you guys.

You look like lambs.

So, this must be your mushroom backup plan you were talking about.

- Yes, we grow shiitake mushrooms on logs and these first started to come out about a week ago and they just were itty bitty little buttons.

- So, how do you get them to grow on the log?

Are they volunteering or are you making this happen?

- A little bit of both.

Sheri.

We started to inoculate our own logs and these are inoculated ourselves by drilling holes and force-inoculating with a saw dust spawn.

- So, now, these have got the gills on 'em, but do you have to cut them like we were doing with the morels or is it- - Let me show you how I like to do it.

- Okay.

- Because the knife is okay, but with the shiitake, if you just grab it on the stem and give it a nice little twist... - [Sheri] Like opening a doorknob.

- Yep, exactly.

They just twist right off.

- So, this is amazing.

I can see this in my future and I thank y'all so much for taking me through the best walk in the woods I've had in a long time.

- Anytime, Sheri.

You're welcome to come back and show us up again.

- [laughs] Remember my beginner's luck.

I'll have to bring another newbie with me to keep the beginner's luck.

No, this is great.

All right.

I thank you.

Until next time.

- Thanks, Sheri.

- See y'all.

- Thank you, Sheri.

[gentle music] [upbeat music]