Wild Mushrooms — From Forest to Function
Keep the Wild Close.
Fresh, dried, and wild-foraged mushrooms. Foraging classes and events. Functional mushroom products built on nearly 20 years of experience.
Truffle Tango — A Tasting Menu by The Sample Room & Gentleman Forager
On June 1st, we’ll take you from Minneapolis to Calabria, Italy, where Gentleman Forager brings you treasures unearthed by generations of truffle hunters beneath oak and chestnut trees. These truffles, with a savory, nutty depth and a whisper of garlic, are prized not just for their flavor, but for an aroma that transforms a dish.
Goat Cheese + Ricotta Terrine
basil pesto • fresh figs • shaved black truffles
Scallop Crudo
frisée • preserved lemon • truffle vanilla vinaigrette
Duck Confit Ravioli
gorgonzola picante • pickled cherry • marcona almonds
Intermezzo
Peterson's Farm Flat Iron Steak
potato truffle pave • grilled ramps • au poivre sauce • black truffle
Black Truffle Ice Cream
roasted hazelnuts
Together, this combination creates a rare experience. Celebrated Executive Chef Kevin Ogren will guide you through a five-course dinner celebrating these layers. Reserve your time between 4:30 and 8:30 PM, and toast the evening with a bespoke Blueberry Chaga Headwater cocktail. We look forward to sharing this with you.
Choose Your Path Into the Wild
Nationally Recognized Wild Food Expert.
Mike Kempenich founded Gentleman Forager more than two decades ago, building the brand through commercial-scale mushroom cultivation, wild harvesting, and restaurant supply across the Upper Midwest.
He later founded Forest to Fork — America’s first wild food grocery store, known for its 20-foot glass mushroom growing tower — before selling the business in 2021. His work has also included university-level mushroom identification instruction at the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin.
Featured in major news and business outlets including MarketWatch and the Star Tribune — and on public television with PBS Wisconsin and MPR News.
