At Austin Barbecue Festival, Mushroom Council^® Makes Room for ‘Shrooms on the Grill

AUSTIN, TEXAS, May 31, 2023 – This past Memorial Day weekend, the Mushroom Council® celebrated the kick-off to grilling season in Austin, Texas, at the premier barbecue festival, Hot Luck with Wicked Kitchen’s co-founders, chefs and brothers Derek and Chad Sarno.

On Saturday, May 27, the team served grilled lion’s mane mushroom “steak,” black pearl oyster mushroom “poke,” portabella shawarma tacos and BBQ oyster mushroom “burnt ends” to 2,500 hungry barbecue enthusiasts.

The Mushroom Council and Wicked Kitchen together presented the “Shroom House,” a mushroom-themed sampling station that felt like a classic Texas steakhouse, but with a plant-based focus on mushrooms. This event highlighted mushrooms’ great flavor on the grill, meaty texture and how their inherent umami flavor fits comfortably alongside anyone’s grill.

Held throughout downtown Austin, Hot Luck is an annual food and music festival bringing together the nation’s premier culinary innovators firing up their grills to serve finger-licking creations to more than 12,000 barbecue fans. James Beard award-winning chef Aaron Franklin – owner of Austin’s world-famous Franklin Barbecue – is among the event’s co-founders.

About the Mushroom Council:

The Mushroom Council is composed of fresh market producers and importers who average more than 500,000 pounds of mushrooms produced or imported annually. The mushroom program is authorized by the Mushroom Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act of 1990 and is administered by the Mushroom Council under the supervision of the Agricultural Marketing Service. Research and promotion programs help to expand, maintain and develop markets for individual agricultural commodities in the United States and abroad. These industry self-help programs are requested and funded by the industry groups that they serve. For more information, visit mushroomcouncil.com.

Contact: Eric Davis, 612-202-9407, edavis@curiousplot.agency