Learn a Skill with Mariana: Mushroom Foraging
I’m Mariana Padilla, Community Evangelist at Harmonic Security. I bring security, AI governance, and risk people together for a living, and I think we’ve all had enough panels for one lifetime.
So I’m starting Learn a Skill with Mariana, a small-group series that’s a play on Claude Skills, except we’re learning actual human skills from people who are genuinely good at them. No LLMs in sight.
First up: a chef-led gourmet mushroom foraging and cooking experience with Forage Seattle, Washington’s only fully licensed, insured, and permitted foraging operator.
We’ll explore a pre-scouted forest within 30 minutes of downtown Seattle and learn how to read the habitat, identify Washington’s iconic gourmet mushrooms, distinguish them from their trickier look-alikes, and harvest without damaging the patch.
But we’re not spending three hours looking at mushrooms and then going home hungry.
We’ll taste mushrooms prepared several different ways, take part in a live outdoor cooking demonstration, and learn the techniques that bring out their best flavor. Apparently, making mushrooms “squeal” is a real cooking method, and yes, we’re going to learn it. We’ll also cover preservation techniques so you can enjoy your haul beyond one afternoon.
Once we regroup, we’ll have local wine and beer on tap to enjoy with the food. Every guest will also leave with fresh gourmet mushrooms to take home, regardless of what Mother Nature decides to put in our path that day.
The afternoon
12:45 - Meet, grab coffee, and get your foraging kit
1:00 - Head into the field to forage, identify, and taste
Along the way - Sample different preparations and take part in a chef-led cooking demonstration
3:30 - Regroup, sort the keepers, and enjoy local wine and beer
4:00 - Wrap up and take your mushrooms home
What’s provided
A basket, mushroom knife, gloves, field guide, hand warmers, tastings, local wine and beer, and fresh gourmet mushrooms to take home.
What to bring
Waterproof layers and boots you don’t mind getting muddy. If you own rain pants, this is their moment.
This experience involves uneven, muddy, and sometimes steep ground. Reasonable mobility is required, and we’ll head out rain or shine. Mushrooms are fans of the rain, even if the rest of us have mixed feelings.
Spots are capped at 16. Grab yours.