The Joy of Mushroom Gathering: Christian Eckert’s Passion for Forest Escapes

After a long marathon which took him to Bercy, Christian Eckert rediscovered, a few years ago, the joy of a few escapes into the forest. The opportunity to bring friends or family together around a pan of mushrooms that he loves above all to pick himself.

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His Proust madeleine has more the scent of a chanterelle, a beautiful Bordeaux cep or a bed of death trumpets. “Mushrooms go back to childhood. My parents had a mycologist friend with whom we explored the Breistroff forest near Thionville. He was a teacher, a black hussar, who had such knowledge of the subject that pharmacists themselves came to consult him,” recalls Christian Eckert.

Moment of conviviality

It was after taking leave from political life a few years ago, and for the benefit of the covid pandemic, that the former Budget Secretary (under Hollande) rediscovered the happiness – spiced up by suspense – of picking . “It is most often a moment shared with friends, it remains a moment of conviviality, of exchanges, but also of silence and meditation” confesses the Meurthe-et-Mosellan. It must be said that the picker freed from the good spots doubles as a fine cook who loves nothing more than to delight his guests. His guinea fowl with morels has established itself as a must for the end-of-year celebrations. A wink from a generous nature as long as you pay attention to it, some pierce the gravel of your garden path. But it was on the edge of the Meuse that he went to refuel, even if it meant frowning at the sight of the 54 plate on his car. “The morel is the queen, but it’s a complicated mushroom that grows in symbiosis with ash trees or old apple trees,” relishes the person concerned.

Empty baskets

To cook veal or white meats, the chef prefers trumpets of death. “You have to sweat the mushrooms with butter in a good saucepan, then brown them in a pan with garlic and parsley. They can be made as a crust, vol-au-vent style or as an accompaniment to a dish of fresh pasta with homemade cream.”

Problem this season, after a promising start, the baskets remain desperately empty. “The soils are too dry. We have to wait and hope that October will correct things.” To wait, the former Secretary of State for the Budget returns to politics and feeds his Facebook page with some thoughts on current events. But he draws an observation tinged with a touch of bitterness: “There, where the slightest photo of a basket of mushrooms garners 200 likes, an analysis of the migrant crisis painfully elicits a few comments. My love of mushrooms, however, is not about to make me forget the essentials.”

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