Urban Mushroom : Grow edible mushrooms in town

Project

Urban Mushroom is an urban agricultural project. The principle: grow edible mushrooms (shiitake) in town, within a short value food chain. For now, the company only produces shiitake mushrooms, but other mushroom productions are planned as well as other products such as endives.

By 2020, they plan to cultivate mushrooms on coffee grounds and brewed malt residues, to:

• Relocate food production
• Decrease the quantity of waste going to be incinerated

The mushroom growing facility is located in town in a chapel. In June 2018 the association obtained permission to use 150 m² in the unused 19th century chapel of Martray, in the Talensac district of Nantes.

How it works

The company sells the mushrooms directly on the production site, at the chapel. When there is a production surplus, they also sell in the city’s markets.

Context

The Urban mushroom project started with three observations made by the project leaders

• organic waste is now incinerated,
• mushroom producers are difficult to find in and around Nantes,
• mushrooms that grow (especially oyster mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms) can grow on coffee grounds and brewery beans.

Project leaders

Created in 2017, the Urban Mushroom project is carried by three partners : Philippe GIRARD, Camille MAY, Romain REDAIS. During 4 months the first cultural trials took place between cellar, garage and kitchen to learn how it works, and practice! Then, the cooperative supermarket in Nantes, Scopéli allowed the project to start a small production on their site. 

Shiitake in the kitchen

In addition to providing services to nature by breaking down dead wood, this mushroom is a good dish to bring to your kitchen. The Urban Mushroom project explains everything:

If we are talking about shiitake in the kitchen, we must explain the concept of the "Umami" taste. Our taste buds dissociate it from sweet, salty, bitter and acid. This word of Japanese origin can be translated as tasty and delicious. It has the characteristic of being round in the mouth with lasting flavors.

This feature makes it very versatile in the kitchen. It accompanies seafood as well as meat and vegetables. We can even cook it with sweet food!

Its texture will not leave you indifferent. For lovers of wild mushrooms, it is close to a well cooked ceps.

Depending on how it is cooked, it can have a soft consistency, when cooked in a broth for example, or it can be firm like a grilled meat if you grill it for a long time. It is also interesting to cook and mix to make a terrine to enjoy on toasted bread.

Where to find them?

Urban Mushrooms primarly sell it products on the production site, but also through CSA organizations in food baskets.They also sell on the markets.

• Tuesday market: Rue Emile Masson/SOLILAB market (8 Rue de Santo Domingo
• Saturday market: Talensac market from 8h to 13h

It is also possible to find their mushrooms in Nantes restaurants such as Atlantis, Pickles, Bad Hunter and others.

They do not have a processing workshop, but have their products processed by a company.

The Little Extra

Mushroom recipes are  listed on their website and a 90% of deliveries are made by bike!

What they need

Have better access to land in the city center of Nantes and expand their sales offer.

Consider the creation of partnerships with local authorities.

Written by Alice Deshons, LFC volunteer - March 2019.

Last modification : 30 Mar 2020.