RESTAURANTS: HAVING FUN WITH FUNGI

Chewton Glen

New Milton, Hampshire (01425 275341)

Recently voted Best UK Holiday Hotel by Conde Nast Traveller magazine, dishes such as braised sea bass with shiitake mushrooms, and roast saddle of lamb with spinach and mushrooms regularly feature.

Le Poussin

The Courtyard, Brookly Rd, Brockenhurst, Hampshire (01590 623063)

Chef and proprietor Alex Aitken, who is currently busy pickling and drying all sorts of wild mushrooms for use all year round, is well-known for his love of fungi - so much so that people will often knock on his restaurant asking him to identify their finds.

Neal Street Restaurant

26 Neal St, London WC2 (0171-836 8368)

As well as numerous dishes featuring wild mushrooms, Antonio Carluccio's London restaurant is also currently including white truffles on its extensive menu.

The Olive Grove

5-6 High Street, Egham, Surrey (01784 439494)

The moment you enter this Mediterranean restaurant you know mushrooms are pretty important to joint owner Litz Phillipou - as well as featuring on the menu, mushroom memorabilia decorates the walls. They run a mushroom hunt followed by a meal every September.

Helter Skelter

50 Atlantic Rd, London SW9 (0171-274 8600)

Here they use a variety of wild mushrooms in about half a dozen dishes, including some that vegetarians can't believe don't include meat. "Chicken- in-the-wood has a texture like chicken. Some people can't believe it's a mushroom; and beefsteak mushrooms do really look pink like beef when you cut into them," explains John Swerdlows.

Wild Harvest

31 Stone Business Estate, Broughton St, London SW3 (0171-498 5397)

As well as supplying restaurants, this company will provide a wide array of mushrooms to members of the public, including gift baskets with recipes.