Sussex Exclusive caught up with Founder and Chef, Tim Neal, of The Chequers at Rowhook.
Whenever I hear anyone talk about The Chequers at Rowhook, the message is always the same: consistently good food. But Chef Tim Neal doesn’t just cook with local produce, he hunts it, basket in hand, deep in the Sussex woods. The Michelin-trained founder of The Chequers at Rowhook has long championed seasonal and foraged ingredients, years before “local” became a marketing buzzword. Today, his kitchen is known for honest cooking, unpretentious skill and dishes that truly taste of the place they come from. And what is one of his great passions? Mushrooms.
On discovering a passion for mushrooms
I’ve always loved mushrooms but my interest grew when I was at South Lodge. We’d have all these incredible ingredients coming in from France and London (expensive, exotic things), but I got to know a local guy who used to pick mushrooms around Sussex. I started buying from him and then going out with him during the season. I’d always been fascinated but never brave enough to pick them myself because, of course, you’ve got to know what you’re doing. But after a while, the knowledge builds. I’d go out with him regularly and then start going on my own. It’s about educating yourself: getting the right information, reading the right books, triple-checking what you’ve picked. It’s year after year of learning. Every season, you find new patches, new types. It takes time. If you’re bringing mushrooms back into a kitchen, you have to be absolutely certain. So I only pick what I know is 100% edible. The rest, I’ll identify later.
On where to forage in Sussex
Sussex is probably one of the richest belts of mushrooms in the country. From Hammer Woods to Ashdown Forest, right down across the Downs. You’ve got such variety. Different trees, different soils, different mushrooms. They all have their hosts. You can tell what you’ll find just by looking at the woods and what’s growing there.
On the art and rhythm of foraging
During the season, I’ll go once a week, sometimes more. Mushrooms grow so quickly. You get spring mushrooms like morels up on the Downs, then St George’s mushrooms, and by September or October you’re in the thick of it: chanterelles, ceps, Horn of Plenty, all those. Later on, you’ll get the winter mushrooms, Scarlet Waxcaps, Wood Blewits, they can even take a bit of frost.
This year’s been a bumper one. Probably the best for thirty years. Everything’s come together: hot weather followed by rain, perfect conditions. I’ve had days when I’ve walked out and come back with thirty kilos of ceps. One of those big TK Maxx bags full, handles stretching. I had to tie it in a knot and fill my jacket as well!
On the life beneath the soil
The mycelium is always there underground; it feeds off the leaf litter. It grows out in rings, that’s why you get fairy rings. When the temperature drops and the rain comes, it shocks the mycelium into reproducing and that’s when the mushrooms appear. They spore, the spores drift off, and hopefully start new colonies somewhere else.
This year we’re seeing species in Britain that have never been found here before. The mycelium’s been dormant for centuries, waiting for the right conditions. It’s amazing when you think about it, all the trees, all the fungi, it’s all connected. Without mycelium, the planet wouldn’t function the same way.
On favourite finds
I found a Hen of the Woods the other week — first time ever. Five of them, all the size of dinner plates, growing on one oak tree. Then there’s Chicken of the Woods (sulphur polypore) which is bright yellow underneath and has the texture of chicken. And Ox-Tongue fungus, which grows on oaks, and when you cut it, it bleeds like flesh. Cabinet makers used to look for that wood because the fungus changed the colour of the grain when they veneered it. Beautiful stuff.
My top three? Ceps, because they’re the king. Horn of Plenty, because they’re beautiful. And Chicken of the Woods — because it’s so different.
On the magic and mythology
Mushrooms have this whole other world around them; mythology, spirituality. The Red Agaric, for example, that’s your fairy-tale mushroom. There’s a reason for all that folklore. And people are also rediscovering the medicinal side, although mushrooms have been used medically for centuries.
On cooking mushrooms
As a chef, you don’t go out with a menu in mind. The mushrooms dictate what happens. You see what you find and build dishes around that. Some, like chanterelles and trumpets, are finer and perfect for risotto. Ceps are more robust and you just fry them off with garlic and parsley, a bit of butter, and serve them on toast.
For me, the simpler the better. Let the food speak for itself. When you’re young, you over-complicate everything, fifteen ingredients on a plate. As you get older, you realise three or four good components are enough. Good ingredients, cooked really well.
The Chequers is open for lunch and dinner from Wednesday to Sunday. thechequersrowhook.co.uk.
