I have mycophilia. This love started with a home gourmet kit for growing mushrooms, which resulted in fistfuls of yummy mushrooms in my own kitchen. When those were gone I sought out choice wild mushrooms from farmers’ markets. When I moved to Gibsons I took a beginner’s mushroom foraging class through the community centre, got the knife, brush and guidebook, and put the mouth-watering, fragrant, free rewards—chanterelle and cauliflower among others—into soups. Needless to say, I was happy to interview two Coast couples who elevate their love of mushrooms to a business and lifestyle.
Aluna's Farm
Aluna Mangipay greets us at the gate of her cheerful property brightly dotted with flowers, and takes us through the metal door of an inconspicuous sea can. The entrance houses a black vat and a pressure cooker for pasteurizing growing mediums.The second door takes us into a spotless packaging area with a gleaming stainless steel counter, sink and scale. All of the interior work was done by Patrick Momer, Aluna’s husband, who has worked at Howe Sound Pulp and Paper for over thirty years.
She opens the final door and in the mist, under eerie blue LED lights, we’re surrounded by a forest of blue, ghostly white, tan and pearl-gray gleaming oyster mushrooms, and puffy white lion’s mane mushrooms, that are “good for your brain,” remarks Aluna. A humidifier keeps the mushrooms in optimal cloudy growing conditions. One month later, or forty-five days for chestnut mushrooms, the delicate caps burst from their growing bags.
Aluna passionately tends her mushrooms in Langdale, and sells them to SuperValu, IGA Gibsons and Wilson Creek, Seaweeds, Clayton’s and Shaggy Jack’s.
She is far from her home in the Philippines, where she was a nurse prior to marrying Patrick five years ago and moving to the Sunshine Coast. The pair started growing mushrooms from home kits. After finding they grew more than they could eat and share with friends, they sold their shrooms through a local health food store which quickly piqued shoppers’ taste buds.
“We purchased a shipping container to turn into a growing facility for gourmet culinary mushrooms,” says Aluna. “We are 100% self-taught. We made mistakes until we reached viability.”
Curious if Aluna Farms mushrooms taste superior, I purchased some locally. The verdict? Aluna’s fresh mushrooms made a simple cheese, pepper and oyster mushroom omelet, and then spaghetti with oyster mushrooms and tomato sauce drool-worthy. The texture of the mushrooms held up nicely and a noticeable nuttiness came through.
Aluna says, “Mushrooms are a good source of fibre, anti-oxidants and a fantastic source of healthy protein. It is also believed they deter the formation of cancers and prevent other conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Some mushrooms, such as Lion’s Mane, can play a big role in the prevention or reduction of Alzheimer’s or dementia.”
After just one year, Aluna’s Farm is for sale. Aluna says that it’s “sad to part with our beloved mushroom farm,” but they bought a retirement property in the Philippines, where they started a vanilla orchard last year.
Shaggy Jack's
Ten years ago, two artists fell in love in Victoria, moved to the Sunshine Coast, had a baby, and pursued their passion for mushroom foraging, cuisine, and education.
Their passion mushroomed into a successful business that Jody Franklin and Andrea Coates named after Jody’s dreadlocks and long beard that resemble the shaggy mane, shaggy parasol and slippery jack mushrooms.
“Jody and I have tried a number of business ventures, but the most successful has been Shaggy Jack’s Wild Mushroom Foraging for Beginners classes,” says Andrea.
They opened the Shaggy Jack’s store above Elphie Cycles in Gibsons for classes, and to “try to make the mushroom business a year-round venture, rather than just a fall thing,” Andrea says. They recently added a retail space in Gibsons Public Market.
Not everyone is fond of edible fungi, some are even mycophobic, but I’m enamored of musky blooms from the dank earth. My favourite earth candy are morels— wrinkly, earthy, and porous, that flourish in areas razed by forest fires and resist being cultured. Shaggy Jack’s has morels, as well as other fresh gourmet mushrooms foraged from the interior. Fresh mushrooms, both wild and cultivated, are available at their Gibsons Public Market location as well.
“The greatest variety and abundance occurs from September through November,” says Jody. He describes himself as a self-educated “mushroom nerd.” He learned about mushrooms by diving into the forests of Mt. Elphinstone.
“In 2018, I put together my first-ever Mushroom Foraging For Beginners class, in which I taught people the basics of mushroom identification and the types of mushrooms that grow on the Coast, followed by a foraging walk in the forest,” says Jody. Since then he has taken hundreds of eager learners through his courses.
Together with chef Ben Berwick, Jody does a tour called Forage To Feast, where a mushroom forage walk is followed by a mushroom cookout. Check out their website (shaggyjack.com ) for this and other class information. They also organize the MushroomMania Festival, which was held the last weekend of October of 2022.
Andrea touches on the benefits of mushrooms, “Many mushrooms make a great alternative source of protein for vegans and vegetarians. Lion’s Mane, which is being studied for its capacity for cognitive repair, can be cooked, or taken as a supplement, whereas reishi, which has been used in Chinese medicine for centuries, are best taken as supplements, or dried and used for teas.” The mushroom gummy supplements on the shelves are intriguing, as are the bags of mushroom-infused coffee.
Jody’s mushroom identification skills are called upon when someone thinks they have eaten a questionable mushroom. “There are likely over 1000 species of mushrooms in BC, with possibly 500 or more on the Sunshine Coast—10 per cent of these mushrooms are reliably edible. The others range from mildly toxic to deadly poisonous,” he warns.
Jody believes that it’s time for the secrecy to stop when it comes to wild mushroom picking, as there is an abundance of mushrooms. He says, “Mushrooms are for everyone! Wild mushroom harvesting is one of the lowest-impact activities in which humans engage in our forests.”
Unlike fishing, hunting or berry-picking, mushroompicking is more sustainable. Jody explains that there is no competition with other animals, as mushrooms are not a primary food source for any mammals or birds, and fungifeeding insects typically target multiple species. He also says that numerous studies have confirmed that in areas where mushrooms are harvested, mushroom yields grow over time because foragers spread spores throughout the areas where mushrooms are collected.
“Mushrooms are definitely trending right now, but they have so much to offer in terms of their culinary, medicinal and cultural value that we feel the future is bright,” says Andrea.
Besides their two shops in Gibsons, Shaggy Jack’s sells their products at the Gibsons Farmers Market at Persephone Brewing, Davis Bay Market, Gibsons Night Market and Sunnycrest Mall.
