Mushroom Mavens, the Big Sur Foragers Fest Will Simmer On

WINTERTIME, for many gourmands, is food time, and sit-at-a-grand-table time, and experience-a-new-dish time, for sure. Marvelous meals are at the steamy and succulent center of many celebrations during the colder months, and friends and family members regularly meet over a few sublime, conversation-worthy dishes. But finding a fab food festival, one that has a number of happenings that roll out over the better part of a week? That's rather rarer come the start of the year. You might see such a celebration in the spring or summer, or even the fall, which has its own apple-oriented, pumpkin-perfect parties. But California is happily home to a few bundle-up bashes, the sort of sup-ready, throw-on-a-scarf festivities that unfold soon after the holidays have wrapped. And one of the loamiest and loveliest of the wintertime revels? It's the...

BIG SUR FORAGERS FESTIVAL, which will return, after a year away, in January 2022. That's a prime time for the fabulous and flavorful fungi that is synonymous with the magnificent region, which is blessed with tree-spectacular expanses, salty breezes, and cool kisses delivered by the Pacific fog. All of it creates a one-of-a-kind atmosphere that makes any dining experience pretty special. And checking out a dish of mushroom-y marvels created by a great chef or several? That's one of the pleasures of the fest, which will run from Jan. 20-23 in 2022. And those pleasures will again be found at the Fungus Face-off, the sizzly centerpiece of the convivial cuisine-forward gathering.

BIG SUR RIVER INN... will be the the home base of the happening, which will raise funds for the Big Sur Health Center. "The event sells out early," say organizers, so you'll want to be sure to get your ticket when they go on sale in July 2021. Is there anything tastier than a wintertime wonderland of chanterelle-cheerful, morel-major dishes, and the people who love them, and love Big Sur, too? A wintertime must-do will again simmer, with lusciousness and love, near some of California's most ethereal coastline as 2022 begins.