Mushrooms are magical – artist Paulina Ołowska asserts. Her works have been displayed in New York’s MOMA and London’s Tate, she is one of the biggest names in contemporary art. It is Paulina’s first interview in many years for a Polish magazine! To talk with her we went to Rabka where she lives and organises her artistic attractions under the name of Mycorial Theatre. Mushrooms and artists had long been in a long-term and passionate relationship, writes Anna Królikiewicz. For writers, poets, musicians and painters they had been, and still are, a way to expand their perception and discover the truth.
American scientist Paul Stametes takes this idea one step further arguing that mushrooms could save the world. Listen to his Ted’ex speeches where he tells how they are able to clean the ground and repel insects, bacteria and viruses! On our home turf together with mycologist Marta Wrzosek and Zbyszek Kmieć, we investigate the mushroom migration and take a closer look at ambiguous and questionable types of mushrooms, such as aureoboletus projectellus, snow morel and sheathed woodtuft – if you haven’t heard about them yet, you have to read our text!
Fungus and mould are necessary ingredients in many culinary processes. They are indispensable in sourdough, cheese and cured meats, described in our autumn issue by Poland’s top specialist in this domain Gienio Mietkiewicz. Yu can also read about increasingly popular exotic mushrooms – abalone, nameko, shiitake, lion’s mane. We visited a producer of unusual fungi in Dąbrówka near Lublin and asked Michał Gniłka to come up with several recipe ideas for serving them. When you are done with wandering around Polish damp and gloomy forests you will find a distraction in our section on California – USTA describes for you the top places in San Francisco, visits vineyards in Napa Valley and talks to Tartine Bar chef Nicolas Balla, discovering his (still) Polish roots.
Enjoy your reading and have a lovely autumn!
