The Paris Mushroom

Have you ever heard of a “Paris Mushroom”?

The Agaricus bisporus, commonly known as the “Button Mushroom", is typically considered unremarkable and even lampoon-worthy by gourmands and cultured mycophiles the world over. But did you know these mushrooms were the first commercial fungi crop cultivated in Europe, first appearing in the gardens of Versailles in the 17th Century? And that a century later, their cultivation proliferated in the subterranean abandoned limestone quarries now known as the Parisian catacombs - lending to an unmistakable and irreplaceable ‘Terroir’ that even today commands the attention of 3 Michelin star chefs?

Although it’s commonly thought that mushrooms don’t need light to grow, the vast majority of mushrooms absolutely do. The Agaricus bisporus is the exception, and Napeolonic soldiers were believed to have first begun cultivating the Paris Mushroom underground around the 18th century when they discovered that the combination of subterranean microclimates and horse manure yielded bumper crops of the edible mushroom.

The true Paris Mushroom has today been largely replaced by imported Agaricus from abroad. Most of mushrooms eaten in France are now cultivated in China and shipped in, and much of the remaining market is fulfilled by mushrooms grown in industrialized hangars away from the city center, and definitely not underground. Yet there are those who continue to insist on sourcing the true Paris Mushroom from one of the handful of farms that preserve its legacy, regardless of the specimens rarity.

This type of mushroom history is endlessly fascinating to me, and so it’s a good thing that one of my podcast guests this week has a mutual fascination and familiarity with many of these types of stories. It was an honor to welcome Nammex founder and global mushroom industry pioneer Jeff Chilton back on the Mycopreneur Podcast to discuss the changing dynamics of the mushroom industry and his current petition to the FDA to require more specificity in the labeling of mushroom vs. non-mushroom products. Jeff has been a commercial mushroom farmer for 50 years, so when he has something to say, it’s best to give him the microphone and let him talk as long as he wants.

This labeling issue is an ongoing concern, and one which has been in process for a number of years now. I’ll save you the suspense, but it’s a hot button subject that actively involves the biggest personalities and business interests in the multi-billion dollar mushroom space. Stay tuned.

I recorded five or six episodes this week and have a few more in the pipeline for tomorrow and Friday - I’m stacking up since I’m heading to Europe this weekend to emcee and speak on one of the stages at O.Z.O.R.A. Festival in Dadpuszta, Hungary. This is a 30,000 person psychedelic tribal gathering about two hours outside of Budapest that runs from July 31st to August 6th. I’m beyond pumped, and fully leaning into the opportunity with zero expectations. I’ll be speaking alongside my friend and inspiration Moudou Baqui and former Mycopreneur Podcast guest and immersive tech wizard Batuhan Bintas of Cyber Mushroom.

This festival will kick off a three month stint in Europe for me. This includes a number of other appearances in a number of different countries. I’ll be at Campout 2023 in Oxfordshire, England after Ozora. Then comes Berlin, where I currently have no official engagement, but where one of my best friends and former foreign exchange students is native to and based. I’ll finish the month at Psylan Festival in the Netherlands, before meeting up with my wife in Spain for a road trip to Paris to see Björk. Then we’re headed to India.

I’m looking forward to continuing to evolve Mycopreneur and further globalize the platform and community over the next few months. There are quite a few other exciting prospects and opportunities on the horizon, but I’ll try to focus on one thing at a time.

I’ve recently linked up with Treat California, a citizen-led initiative that will provide $5 billion in funding for research and affordable access to mental health treatments using psychedelic medicines. The initiative is focused on the mental health of the population of California and is working towards gathering one million signatures for inclusion on the 2024 ballot. Stay tuned for some forthcoming collaborations between us.

I also want to give a huge shout out to Mycopreneur sponsor Mycroboost. I’ve been a daily consumer of Mycroboost functional mushroom coffee, gummies, and capsules for four months now and I’m keeping up with my protocol throughout the upcoming trip. I’m particularly devoted to their coffee and fully recommend giving it a try.

Also a huge, huge shout out to Ousia Labs, creators of the Ousia Fountain. I recorded my 3rd podcast with Ousia’s marketing director Nick Gay today, and the capabilities of their unit impress me more and more every time I see it in action. The Ousia Fountain is a CO2 extraction unit that enables home cultivators and small businesses to streamline extraction of aromas, flavors, and essences - some notable examples of what you can do with this unit are decaffeinate coffee, extract compounds from black pepper to make them more bioavailable, distill your own essential oils from plants in your garden, make soap, and create extractions of other botanical essences as you see fit.

Lastly, go check out Inoculate The World for all your spores and mushroom cultivation equipment needs. ITW is the industry standard for clean, viable, high quality mushroom spores and cultures and they’ve got a ton of important educational resources as well as boutique artifacts available for purchase on the site.

Things are moving quickly here at Mycopreneur and they’re about to ramp up even more. I’m committed to regularly keeping every up to date with this newsletter on a weekly basis at minimum, so please consider subscribing and referring a friend.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I appreciate each and every one of you more than you know. Don’t be a stranger, give me a shout here and let me know what you thought of this week’s Mycopreneur Newsletter ( : and what you’d like to see in the future.

DW