Yeah there are a lot of mushrooms that are listed as deadly poisonous in field guides, but that lots of people eat anyway. And there are other mushrooms that are listed as edible, but that kill some of the people who eat them.
I've never eaten false morels, although if I were at Noma or something I'd probably try the soup. Eating them outside of a geographic region where there is a history of eating them is definitely especially questionable, although I don't know that I'd necessarily consider it unhinged. At least they knew exactly what they were eating and made an informed decision.
Right. Even within a species, your mileage may vary. Sweet and bitter almonds are the same species, but the bitter variety contains cyanide (as do the pits of their close relatives, the peach and apricot). As few as 5-10 bitter almonds can be fatal to a child.
I've never eaten false morels, although if I were at Noma or something I'd probably try the soup. Eating them outside of a geographic region where there is a history of eating them is definitely especially questionable, although I don't know that I'd necessarily consider it unhinged. At least they knew exactly what they were eating and made an informed decision.