Is this classic red and white mushroom you may find growing on boulevards around the city responsible for many of our favourite Christmas symbols like Santa and even flying reindeer?

These pretty little spotted fungi are known as Fly Agaric or Amanita muscaria.   The theory of the mushroom Christmas story all starts with an ancient Siberian tradition that centered on the cultural use of Fly Agaric: local shamans would harvest the mushroom in fall, dry it, and gift it to villagers, sometimes entering homes through roof openings when doors were blocked by snow—here comes Santa Clause, right?!   Even the mushroom’s red and white colouring mirrors Santa’s suit and reindeer eat this hallucinogenic mushroom and experience a drunken effect from the muscamol and ibotenic acid in the fungi, fueling the idea of “flying” reindeer perhaps.  The ecstatic, visionary experiences tied to the ritual both human and animal alike became reframed over time as Christmas magic, gift-giving, and a jolly man bringing wonder in the darkest days of winter.  

So did Siberian history actually lead to any of our modern Christmas symbolism?  Well, parts of the Fly Agaric Christmas story are loosely grounded in real practices as you can see, but the leap to explaining the symbolism of our modern Christmas is a stretch. There is no direct historical evidence linking the specific Siberian shamanic practices to Santa Claus, flying reindeer, or Christmas gift-giving. Most core Christmas elements actually come from Christian traditions (St. Nicholas), Germanic/Yule folklore, 19th-century literature and, of course, advertising. I feel like such a Grinch.  Who cares if it's true, we all love a good story!

Sri Lankan Secret Supper

Jan 24th ONLY

You’re invited to a lavish long table feast you will never forget created by a talented new Sri Lankan chef in the city. 

Chef Thoshan marries heartfelt recipes from his homeland with his refined fine dining skills.  Chef Thoshan, currently cooking at one of Vancouver’s cutting edge tasting bars, Good Thief, is creating a one time only menu just for Swallow Tail members.  You’ll be welcomed into the kitchen with enticing aromas of spices like whole cardamon, chilies and cinnamon simmering (don’t worry, not too spicy:) and freshly baked Ceylon bread.  He sources his ingredients meticulously exploring the best local BC ingredients to compliment his rich, delicious food.   

Seriously, check out the menu, you’ll never have another dinner like it!

• Fanny bay oysters, sweet tamarind pickled cucumber, coconut lime “kiri hodi” froth, puffed and seasoned wild rice, cilantro cress
• “Rusam” cured and slow cooked Prairie Rancher’s Grass Fed Beef brisket salad , Eggplant “moju”, roasted apples and celeriac pure, sunchoke “murukku”, pickled radicchio and water spinach salad
• BC spot prawn crudo, prawn and charred pepper coconut bisque, salted lime compressed watermelon, avocado, basil cress, pickled lotus root, lotus chips
• Burrata, creamed spinach curry, pear and pineapple chutney, “seeni” sambol, crispy garlic and shallots, candied pumpkin seeds
• Ceylon roasted yeast bread with spiced ghee and palm honey

We have 2 menu pricing options $85 4 course/ $125 6 course.  Dinner is at the Swallow Tail secret supper club in Mount Pleasant near Main st.

GIFT CERTIFICATES

Easy-peasy! You choose the price, they choose the adventure and date from sea foraging to harvesting wild mushrooms or our wild pop-up dinners.