In the beginning Eric and Michelle picked every mushroom. A couple years in, we needed extra hands which came from Eric’s dad and stepmom, Michelle’s brother, and a few friends. Eventually we couldn’t keep up, so we started training crews of people and paying them by the pound for their work. As demand continues to grow, so does our network of experienced harvesters.

Depends on the ingredient and the season. For Morels we chase forest fires so every year is different. We’ve harvested on the southern BC border, way up in the Northwest Territories, and in central AB. Our chanterelles are mostly Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii  (Queen Charlotte Islands), sometimes Saskatchewan. We have an every growing little black book of secret spots in Western and northern Canada for our Porcini, other boletes, lobsters, pines, etc. For our seaweed, it’s back to Haida Gwaii. Our Northern Wild Rice grows naturally on the lakes of Manitoba. Our stinging nettle is from AB and BC.

So the short answer is “we go lots of places”.

Nope. Untamed Feast takes “wild” seriously. To us, wild means mushrooms that are not farmed or grown. Additionally, most of the species we work with cannot be farmed.

Most wild mushrooms available in stores and at restaurants are not actually wild. Species like oyster and shitaki were once wild but are now farmed. 

We don't farm the seaweed either. Most seaweed on the market is farmed in Asia and heavily processed. Ours comes from clean, healthy waters in the north Pacific. 

Wild food grows and ripens ‘at home,’ so its taste and nutritional value is exceptional. It's home environment is a natural ecosystem, rich in vitamins and minerals and diversity – in contrast to the depleted sources of many food crops managed for maximized yield, transport, and esthetic. Think wild salmon vs farmed, or wild strawberry vs plastic pack imported.

Yes! Wild Mushrooms contain beta-glucans which boost the immune system. They are loaded with trace minerals and vitamins (Iron, selenium, Vitamin B & D, etc).  They have been proven to be anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory. And they are also a wonderful vegetarian protein.

The species we harvest have been enjoyed for centuries and are available in some of the top rated restaurants in the world. We are 100% confident in the species we harvest. We can differentiate between edible and non-edible mushrooms like a gardener can differentiate between a cucumber and a zuchini.

Some people are allergic to mushrooms, as is the case with any food. If it’s your first time eating wild mushrooms, eat a small amount. Wild mushrooms should be thoroughly cooked.

No. Untamed Feast dried wild mushrooms must be reconstituted and then cooked. Cooking is an alchemy, breaking down hard to digest materials and unlocking the flavor of the mushrooms. There are a few exceptions to this rule,  like porcini, that are excellent raw, in small amounts, when just out of the ground.

Yes. Our seaweed is cold air dried so it maintains its status as a raw food. Some people snack on it right out of the bag but we prefer to crumble it, put it in water for a few minutes and then in salads (it would still be a raw food), soups or stir-fries.

These are not common allergies but some people do have them. If you are allergy prone or have a concern about this, eat only a small amount to begin with to see if they agree with you.  If you are allergic to a store bought mushroom it does not mean that you are allergic to wild mushrooms. If you are allergic to shellfish it does not mean that you are allergic to seaweed. The ingredients we harvest are safe for the majority of people and are served in restaurants all over the world.

All soaking Instructions are under ‘Rehydration’ on this page. They are also included in the recipe booklet inside each package.

Our products have a shelf-life between 14 months and 2 years. See storage section.

It depends on the variety, the size of the pieces, and the cooking method. You should soak the mushrooms first for best flavour and result. See the Eat section of the website or the recipes included in the product packages.

Wild mushrooms are hard to find and hard to get. It takes a great deal of resources to predict and prepare for each upcoming season. It is expensive, time consuming, and labour intensive to gather, dry, and process high quality wild ingredients within the short harvest season. Harsh weather, bugs, isolation, access, and wildlife are just some of the elements at play in a wild harvest. Since these mushrooms cannot be farmed, mother nature’s generosity and good luck are major factors in every harvest cycle. We can’t simply plant more.

Export markets for wild mushrooms are competitive. Global demand is usually greater than supply, mostly due to a lack of harvesters and difficulty in accessing remote areas. The bulk of Canadian wild mushrooms are exported at high value to Europe and Asia.

Sometimes, yes. However fresh mushrooms perish easily and do not transport well. Since mushrooms are 90% water, the dried product has much more flavor, (think raisin and grape). The concentrated flavour of dried mushrooms is better product for soups, sauces, gravies, risotto.

Yes! Compare a wild mushroom to an apple. The apple contains seeds and the mushroom spore. Apples are the fruit of a tree and mushrooms are the fruiting body of mycelium;  a filament-like, underground network that connects and feeds the tree roots to one another. When the mycelium is stressed (like in the case of a forest fire or other instances of soil disturbance) it produces its fruit.  Picking the mushroom does not destroy the mycelium, just as picking the apple does not destroy the tree. The apple seeds are contained in the core of the fruit and must be scattered by birds and humans, the spore, which numbers in the billions per mushroom, disperses easily like dust in the wind.

See our shipping information.