DAME KATE BINGHAM hands over her phone to show me a photograph of mushrooms. Not any old mushrooms, but porcini, picked in woodland near her home, a restored watermill in the Welsh Marches. It’s a huge haul, possibly her best yet, she says. ‘I cook them in butter, shallots and garlic —off-the-charts delicious served with grouse breast. Some not so beautiful ones I dry in the Aga and pot up to make tea.’
The date on the photo is September 5, 2020, a Saturday, six months into the Covid-19 pandemic; in between picking through her porcini, she was running online meetings with colleagues
