My longtime journalist pal Bob Tita was a newsroom desk neighbor of mine two decades ago before he left Northwest Indiana in 2002 to become a reporter for Crain’s Chicago Business, and later, a similar writing position for the Dow Jones.
Bob was born and raised in Berwyn, Illinois, and now, he and his editor wife Polly Smith, who was also one of my early editors, live in Bob’s parent’s family home in Berwyn.
For years, Bob would tell me about the annual Houby Festival held in Berwyn and one of the wacky memories of his Chicago-raised youth. “Houby” is Czech/Slovak as the Bohemian word for “mushroom” or “sponge.”
Launched in fall 1968, the Houby Festival expanded over the years to swallow up joint hosting duties for both the neighborhoods of Berwyn and Cicero, usually held the first weekend of October and including returning features and festivities such as mushroom dining delicacies sold as food fare, a carnival, a Mushroom Parade, a crowning of a Mushroom Queen Pageant competition, live music and many attendees donning traditional Eastern European attire.
The three-day celebration, now in its 57th year, is hailed as the International Houby Festival and draws an estimated 88,000 attendees.
It’s now only fall fungi that get the royal treatment.
At our farm, we’ve been scouring our fields for spring morels, the delicate, honeycomb, coned-cap mushroom delicacies.
About 90 minutes south of both Northwest Indiana and Chicago is Ottawa, Illinois, population just over 18,000.
During my journalism career, the claim-to-fame I’ve always associated with Ottawa is that it’s the hometown and headquarters of registered nurse-turned-celebrity-weight-loss/healthy eating advocate Seattle Sutton. She grew her small business of catering healthy, fresh prepared meals delivered from her home kitchen in 1985 into a multi-million brand and empire, which she later sold in 2018. Today, at age 93, she enjoys retirement with family.
In more recent years, Ottawa became associated with the world of “mushroom hunting,” with an emphasis on giving spring morel mushrooms their due as a treasured menu favorite of the Midwest.
Earlier this month, on the weekend of May 3, Ottawa hosted the 11th Annual Midwest Morel Festival. This was a special year because the festival honored the passing of its founder, Tom Nauman, of Henry, Illinois, who died at age 74 in February. It was Nauman’s idea to invite guests to his hometown community to join him on his guided mushroom hunts.
According to Nauman’s published obituary: “His passion in life was morel mushrooms, so he founded Morel Mania, Inc. The story goes that after seeing a carved morel at a craft fair, he said, ‘I can do better than that!’ and so he did. In addition to offering hand-carved morel ‘decoys,’ shroom sticks, and various other accouterments for the eclectic morel maniacs of the world, he founded and ran the Illinois State Morel Mushroom Hunting Championship from 1995-2004, first in Magnolia, Illinois, then in Henry, and finally in Ottawa.
“The 2002 hunt, with 697 participants, was the largest gathering of mushroom hunters anywhere –ever. In more recent years, the hunt and festival made a revival in Ottawa, being rebranded as the Midwest Morel Fest. The Ottawa Visitors Center presented him with an ‘Honorary Fungi’ award for his contributions to the community in May 2024.”
Even if the guided public mushroom hunts are sold out (which happens often), there are still plenty of fresh morel mushrooms sold during the festival along with food vendors, live music and entertainment. The festival is hosted by the “groovy” mascot Mr. Morel, who loves to pose for photos.
For more information about the morel festival, www.visitottawail.com has details, as does www.cicerofestivals.com for Houby Festival.
Today’s rich and delicious mushroom bisque recipe is from Chef Melvin Taylor, who spent years as the head of the kitchen operations at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond.
He served this delectable creamy soup recipe in the ballroom of the Horseshoe for the New Year’s Eve celebration dinner that welcomed the arrival of 2006. When he shared the recipe with me, he said it has been served to and enjoyed by Ivana Trump, actor Richard Roundtree and sports greats Michael Jordan, Dick Butkus and Brian Urlacher.
Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is a radio host on WJOB 1230 AM. He can be reached at PhilPotempa@gmail.com or mail your questions: From the Farm, PO Box 68, San Pierre, Ind. 46374.
Chef Taylor’s Mushroom Bisque
Makes 6 servings
1 quart chicken broth
1 pound assorted fresh mushrooms of choice, chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
8 tablespoons half-and-half
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
White pepper
Hot sauce
Directions:
1. In a 2-quart pot, bring chicken broth to a boil. Add mushrooms and onions and bring back to a simmer.
2. Reduce heat to a slow simmer and cover for at least 1 hour.
3. In a separate pot, prepare a roux by melting butter and slowly adding flour. Whisk until evenly incorporated.
4. Continue to whisk roux while slowly adding half-and-half. Add bay leaf to thickening sauce and stir briskly. Remove bay leaf and discard.
5. Add roux to mushroom broth and stir until blended. Add seasonings, including white pepper and hot sauce to taste. Serve immediately.
