Last Spring we ventured into the the Turkish mountains to hunt for Morels

We began at the foot of the mountains between Dalaman and Antalya, an area in which early morels, encouraged by recent warmth and the prospect of spring had begun to emerge. Local farmers and foragers have spent their entire lives mapping out the surrounding woods and know exactly where to begin hunting, and hunt they do.

Sheltered by Scots pine and fragrant myrtle bushes, the illusive fungi remain disguised by a blanket of brown pine needles. Wisps of dry beige grass hinder the mushroom’s visibility further, making it a tough spot, even for the keenest of foragers. 

Whilst morels are scarce on the ground, they fetch a higher price, so the part-time pickers are happy to spend a day scouring the woods as they’re paid fairly for their early efforts. 

Eda (our guide that day, pictured above) has been picking morels since she was four years old. Now in her mid twenties she relishes the morel season, spending every spare hour she has, hunting in the woods.

Armed with a newly born kid in one hand and a lifetime of experience in the other, she took us up the mountain. 

We searched for hours and only found a mere handful. Eda's senses were far more attuned to our surroundings than us. She must have found around ten times more morels than us without even putting down her goat. As well as searching intently, you have to cover a lot of ground over dry, steep terrain. It's very tiring. I'd go as far to say treacherous in some places. 

Hassan and his family collect each picker's bounty, driving around the mountains collecting as little as 500g from some families to pull together our early orders. The combined haul is then sorted at a grading and storage facility in a nearby village.

Pervin and Esma diligently sort through the mushrooms, trimming and grading them out into different sizes as they go. The graded morels are then boxed, stacked and sent to The Wild Room, reaching us within 24 hours of the mushrooms being picked.

This is all made possible by the happy chaps pictured above. We've been working with Orhun, Hassan and Mustafa for almost 30 years now. Each season they go that extra mile to find us the best Turkish morels.

Using a network dating back generations, scattered across the houses, farms and small villages dotted over the mountains, these guys connect with locals, neighbours and old friends from further afield to bring you beautifully fresh Turkish Morels.