Some of the most prized ingredients on Sacramento menus never pass through a farm, a distributor, or a produce truck. Chef Tyler Bond of Mulvaney’s B&L makes monthly trips to Mendocino County, hiking redwood forests before dawn to hand-pick chanterelles, lobster mushrooms, huckleberries, and watercress. Nine years into foraging, he still starts as early as 5 a.m. to squeeze every hour of daylight out of the trip.
The work is harder than it sounds. Bond says spotting the mushrooms is the real challenge because their color matches the fallen leaves almost exactly. The payoff is worth it: wild chanterelles and lobster mushrooms can sell for $25 to $50 per pound, and they bring flavors to the plate that cultivated mushrooms just can’t match. At Mulvaney’s B&L, those finds turn into dishes like julienned chanterelles with chicken.
Bond’s trips are a reminder that Northern California’s food culture runs deeper than the farmers market. It’s also a window into why wild ingredients are scarce, seasonal, and often expensive. Next time you see an unfamiliar mushroom on a local menu, it may have started its journey on a foggy forest floor hours north of the Capitol.
Would you try a dish made with foraged wild mushrooms? Let us know in the comments.
About the Author
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.
