Blog by Mike Robinson of The Pot Kiln..

I thought I would write to tell you all about the most astonishing mushroom season. The damp and gloomy weather of the summer has caused a lot of activity underground and now that the sun is shining the wild fungi around the Pot Kiln have started to show their heads above the parapet! Without doubt, this promises to be one of the best mushroom seasons ever.

The Game and Wildfood Cookery School is running a series of courses over the next month for those who would like to discover the world of edible fungi. I have found more diverse species of really splendid mushrooms this year than ever before, particularly the highly prized cèpes and other members of the boletus family.

Having found and identified your mushrooms (with some help from the experts), you will return to our "state of the art" cookery school for a full course of instruction on how to prepare and cook your catch... This is a really fascinating day out in the wonderful Berkshire countryside around (Royal!) Bucklebury and the Pot Kiln and a few places are still available at the last minute price of £150 per person (normally £230).  The courses run from 8:45am to 4:30pm. For more details click here

There are many other courses available so you might want to take a look at those on our web site www.gamecookeryschool.co.uk.

Those of you who have been watching Countrywise Kitchen on ITV may be interested to know that my cookery book of the series is about to be released in mid October - just in time for Christmas!  It will be available in W H Smiths and all the big supermarkets.

There will be a three part series of Countrywise Kitchen just before Christmas and I will be presenting an eight part series of Countrywise in February.

You can see what is happening by following me on Twitter (@potkiln) or on my blog - just take a look at the Pot Kiln web site. www.potkiln.org

Meanwhile, the Pot Kiln goes from strength to strength. Jon Taylor, our Head Chef is producing a whole series of imaginative dishes which perfectly compliment our approach to food.  As we move into Autumn, most of our native deer species come into season so we will see more of them featuring on the menu.

Mike