All this talk about gourmet ingredients reminds me of the time my son, the executive chef, was coming home for the holidays and wanted to make something special for dinner. He emailed his needs prior to coming and one of them was lobster mushrooms. Well, my bride and I looked high and low all over town for those things and finally found dried lobster mushrooms at a health store. They were EXPENSIVE, about $20 for a small package and we needed two packages. We thought this meal had better be GREAT.
Anyway. He takes the mushrooms and rehydrates them in liquid for a few minutes then he THREW THEM OUT!!!!
I thought his mother was going to kill him. I didn't know whether to save my son or my wife. Dinner was very nice once I got over the mushroom bit.
Restaurant tip: Never go out to dinner with my son unless you want every course critiqued.