Hells Kitchen Blamed for Wild Mushroom Shortage

The papers have been FULL of Hells Kitchen this past week, mainly because of comedian Jim Davies being booted out by show producers for being homophobic. (Good on 'em) However as the uproar died down, Hells Kitchen has hit the headlines yet again, this time for putting species of wild mushroom in danger. On the show earlier in the week millions of ITV1 viewers saw chef Marco Pierre White sing the praises of wild mushrooms when he cooked them with Dover Sole, and now rangers on a country estate have warned that people are attempting to cash in by picking "car boot loads" of the expensive fungi in the English countryside with the idea of selling them off to foodies in the cities. The power of television huh? A celeb chef says "OOOH these mushrooms are delicious, they grow wild you know" and hundreds of people charge to the countryside to set up impromptu mushroom picking services. That said, you have to admit that the huge rise of the reality TV cooking show lately has brought on a consumer demand for more unusual ingredients. At least people are becoming more willing to break out of their kitchen comfort zones and experiment!