The Mushroom Council and The Culinary Institute of America are taking chefs on a globally inspired culinary tour — featuring mushrooms as the star ingredient — in their recently launched “Mushrooms in the Plant-Forward Kitchen” educational video series.
The 13-part series demonstrates 12 global recipes, including Korean mushroom bibimbap, Mexican street food-inspired mushrooms al pastor, Japanese mushroom katsu, and spicy Indian mushroom and lamb meatballs. Each also includes downloadable and printable recipes for chefs and menu developers.
“In a Venn diagram of plant-forward recipes and globally inspired flavors, mushrooms will always be in the middle as they are the ideal central ingredient for both trends thanks to their meaty texture, savory flavor, nutritional profile and versatility,” said Pam Smith, foodservice consultant for The Mushroom Council. “Whether it’s swapping meat with mushrooms entirely for a plant-based meal or blending meat with mushrooms for a creative, umami-bursting dish, utilizing mushrooms in plant-forward, global cooking is a strategy that every chef can master, and we developed this series to showcase how simple this can be.”
The campaign has reached audiences more than 100,000 times across digital media platforms since launching in April 2023, according to a release.
This educational program is also a part of The Culinary Institute of America’s Plant-Forward Kitchen Training and Certification program, an online training course that educates chefs about plant-forward, sustainable cooking techniques. Through culinary expertise and creativity, the Plant-Forward Kitchen is on a mission to bring craveable plant-based meals to even the most dedicated carnivores, the release said.
Retailers, restaurants and foodservice operators are invited to share the free videos and recipes to inspire new uses for mushrooms in the kitchen.