Mushrooms come in all shapes and sizes. There’s those we cook with – the bulbous chestnut, long stemmed enoki and otherworldly globes of lion’s mane – and the brightly coloured and spotted growths often found in wooded areas, those you best avoid at all costs unless you’re a seasoned forager with extensive knowledge of their potential poisonousness. Such a span of visual richness, as well as their “earthy recipes and magical stories”, says creative director David Lane, made the mushroom the perfect ingredient for the third issue of The Gourmand, following on from the legacy of the lemon and the egg.
As per the previous two editions of the series – a collaborative project between David and editor-in-chief Mariana Tweed – the simple cover features a singular image of the food in question on a white background, with no text in sight. Shot by Bobby Doherty, a continued collaborator on the series and an image-maker known for his up-close-and-personal appraisal of objects and food-stuffs, the covers strip each food-muse down to its barest form. “Bobby’s unique in that he can elevate everyday objects to feel incredibly iconic,” says Marina. “Whether it’s an egg, or a mushroom or a lemon, we work with him to create an image that is the perfect and most archetypal version of that ingredient.” This time round it’s the button mushroom, with its woody stem and feathered interior, the stark background enhancing its mythical quality. If you’d never seen a mushroom and then looked at this cover, it would be hard to tell if it was the size of your little finger, or as towering as an oak tree.