DIANE DE BEER talks to the chef about the favoured ingredient:

For followers and fans of the creative chef Lientjie Wessels, her latest venture is a workshop on mushrooms on Saturday (March 2) in Cullinan.

Because of her individual style in anything she does and her vast knowledge and instinctive approach with food, expect the unexpected.

As an ingredient, mushrooms are growing bigger and bigger each year, she offers as an explanation for this particular subject. “It’s also a very interesting food. There’s so much that is still unfamiliar about mushrooms. Incredibly, there are approximately 10 000 varieties of which we only eat 30 and then about another 20 we know of that are  used in medicinal ways,” she explains. “There’s always been  a huge interest in mushrooms which I know will become even more intense in the future.”

She’s also intrigued by the fact that when taking the DNA of a mushroom into account, it is the ingredient that has the most in common with meat. Add to that its depth of flavour and as a bonus, a strong nutritious component as well.

For Lientjie, the importance of mushrooms as an ingredient, is their versatility. “You can even use it in a dessert,” she says. “It’s incredible what you can do.” She includes anything from mushroom kombucha to candies – savoury and sweet. And if anyone can let their imagination run riot in the kitchen, Lientjie is that person.

Think of the huge interest in and growth of the plant-based way of eating and thus cooking, and she knows her instincts are red-hot. Why not mushrooms, is how she views her choice.

Some of her ways with mushrooms which she will include in her masterclass, are how to make a powder, which means you always have some on hand; the equivalent of meat patties with lentils and mushrooms; candied mushrooms; or a hearty winter.

Each kind is so different and that’s why she encourages keen cooks to get to know their mushrooms and how to make the best decisions. “I can’t stand it when I’m served a watery mushroom sauce because it’s been cooked incorrectly,” she says. If you take oyster mushrooms as an example, just the different colours make her happy. And each mushroom has different traits which should be emphasised.

Describing her own food preference as flexitarian, it means she eats less meat and is more conscious of where food comes from. “What are the processes ingredients have undergone?” is what plays on her mind. Being a thoughtful eater is what our future should be all about.

It has long been an ethos, but more recently, because of the Greta Thunbergs of the world, the youth is much more aware of working more gently with the planet. The way foods are manipulated for example plays a huge role and will become more urgent in the future.

“I don’t mind meat or tripe for that matter, but I have a problem with how it is treated,” she says. But then she’s off in another direction as she muses about mushroom sausages. And why not?

Her belief is that you can really wow people with mushrooms  –  and, with her cuisine creativity, probably with anything she puts her mind to. She likes putting things together in ways which are unexpected.

She describes mushrooms as  one of the super foods that will keep growing in popularity.

There are so many advantages. For example, they are easy to grow. We still know way  too little, and could learn more and more.

If you haven’t heard of Chicken of the Woods (love that name!), know of the fermentation process, or of the different coloured oyster mushrooms, this will be the class for you.

Think about it, says Lientjie, you can harvest mushrooms every few days and even grow them in small spaces like an apartment. “What’s not to love about them?” she asks. Combined with sprouting lentils, for example, you have food. It’s an amazing source of protein!”

By now you might have gathered that Lientjie is excited about mushrooms. “People should grow their own food and know the source of what they buy,” is her dictum. Which, to her mind, makes mushrooms such an easy option.

“They can be eaten all year round. You can go for something as easy and fresh as a raw mushroom salad for example. “I love the smell of a raw mushroom when I cut them,” she notes. “Just add some lovely Kalahari salt, and you have a meal.”

But she warns, mushrooms don’t work when they’re not well cooked. “If you make a mushroom sauce or fry mushrooms, do it right, or you might just serve your guests breakfast mushroom mush.”

She advocates using mushrooms more creatively and that’s what her workshop is all about.

“This is my first mushroom workshop, but it won’t be the last,” she says.

How can you resist?