MUSHROOMS are having a moment. Supermarkets are reporting a surge in demand for cultivated mushrooms while the more adventurous prefer to wander the woodlands and pick their own.

Although I love the idea of strolling through the forest in search of ceps, girolles and chanterelles, in reality it sounds like the foodie equivalent of Russian roulette.

As New Forest forager, Garry Eveleigh puts it, "every mushroom is edible once".

"It is a dangerous game, but it is as safe as you want it to be," he says. "I've been foraging since I was about nine years old and I'm still here because I don't take any risks where mushrooms are concerned."

I'm relieved to hear it. For Garry has invited me to join him for a fungi forage and when it comes to exploring nature's larder, you would be hard pushed to find anyone more knowledgeable.

Garry has just written a book called Wildcook, Ceps, Shrubs and Rock 'n Roll in conjunction with James Golding, the renowned chef director of The Pig group.

It's a great concept for a cook book. Garry finds the food and James rustles up the recipes.

We meet at The Pig in Brockenhurst and take a short drive into the woods. Garry tells me there are around 3,000 varieties of fungi in the New Forest.

"The New Forest is probably as good as it gets because it is ancient woodland and all the rotting leaf litter makes the soil perfect for fungi, " he explains.

"We usually pick around 20 varieties that are good and edible - there are many more that you can eat, but there are also a lot more that can kill you."

As we walk into the forest accompanied by Garry's four-legged friend Finn, I'm starting to feel a little uneasy. Garry reckons this is a good thing.

"You are better off frightening people rather than encouraging people to go foraging on their own, because I can show you mushrooms that look like good edible varieties, but will destroy your liver and kidneys," he continues.

"It's also true for plants and flowers. Picking green stuff is just as dangerous - there are more poisonous wild plants than you can possibly imagine.

"You have got to be 100 per cent sure. Even I have to look twice sometimes, because they do all have a lot of look a likes, but that's what makes it more interesting."

And he doesn't just stop at mushrooms. Garry forages for a whole variety of wild foods throughout the year in woodlands and shorelines around the south coast,

He adds: "You are not allowed to pick a plant, flower or leaf in the New Forest - you can only take fruits, nuts and berries. You can gather acorns if you want to make acorn coffee, not that I would advise that as it tastes horrible. Rosehips make a great syrup though. One teaspoon has a higher concentration of vitamin C than a whole orange."

And Garry's off - he is a minefield of information. You would certainly never go hungry on a desert island with him at your side.

And although he has been foraging for more than 50 years, he still gets excited when he spots a perfect specimen.

"Sadly every mushroom excites me," he laughs.

Within half an hour we have found winter chanterelles, pied de mutton and amethyst deceivers to name a few. We also put handfuls of crab apples and sweet chestnuts into our baskets.

During the course of our forage, a New Forest ranger pops up to ask if we know the guidelines when it comes to how many you can pick per day (1.5kilos).

Garry isn't surprised as there have been so many reports in the press of commercial gangs stripping the New Forest of fungi.

"Without a doubt, fungi foraging has become more popular, but there has been so much media hype. I've yet to see one of these gangs and I'm out and about every day and you can't over pick - that is a fact.

"A Swiss company carried out a 25 year study where they fenced off areas of forest and picked everything in many different ways and there were no ill effects whatsoever.

"It seems to be a British issue. On the continent foraging has been a family pursuit for generations."

When we get back to The Pig we hand our baskets of goodies to James Golding and his team in the kitchen- once Garry has double checked that "a nasty one " hasn't slipped in to the mix by accident.

He then takes me on a tour of the hotel's stunning market gardens where a whole array of edible plants, flowers and leaves are grown for the chef's table.

Then it's back to the hotel to eat our wild mushrooms which have been pan fried in butter, served on toasted home-made bread with a poached egg on top and garnished with freshly plucked cornflowers.

Without doubt it is one of the most satisfying lunches I've ever had. And I'm still alive to tell the tale!