From guarded foraging spots to community-driven growers, the region’s fungi culture is equal parts elusive and thriving.
What started as a simple quest to learn about Niagara-grown mushrooms quickly evolved into an exploration of the tightly guarded worlds of mushroom cultivation and foraging. Multiple requests for information went unanswered, reinforcing what Tori Pennell of Twenty Kitchen and Bar says about foraging: “It is like a secret service.” As the saying goes, “if you know, you know”— and if you don’t, good luck getting anyone to talk about hunting fungi. We’re not even talking about special mushrooms here — just classic, down-to-earth varieties such as chanterelles, button, portobello, enoki, cremini, shiitake and lion’s mane. The list is long, but lips remain sealed on the subject.
According to Mushrooms Canada, a volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to the production and marketing of fresh mushrooms in Canada, mushrooms are among the most sustainable foods to grow. They require little water, are energy-efficient, produce high yields in small spaces and have a low carbon footprint. Mushrooms are grown commercially year-round in Canada, so their appeal goes well beyond the plate.
It’s no secret that in recent years the popularity of mushrooms has grown — not only on restaurant menus, but also for their potential health benefits. So is it plausible that demand is outpacing supply, fueling the secrecy around sourcing and foraging? The numbers suggest otherwise. According to Mushrooms Canada, “Over 100 farms in Canada produce 153,321 tons (over 300 million pounds) of mushrooms annually. Ontario produces the most at 52 per cent, followed by British Columbia at 39 per cent, with the remaining provinces accounting for 8 per cent.” In other words, when it comes to commercially grown mushrooms, Ontario is anything but short on supply.
As the popularity of mushrooms grows, so does interest in foraging, which comes with challenges. In one mushroom-foraging Facebook group, a request for information was met with messages urging against discussing foraging because it encourages trespassing and harms ecosystems. It’s a fitting reminder of the phrase “if you know, you know” — especially when sustainability is at stake and sourcing mushrooms responsibly depends on those with the expertise to do it right.
Tori Pennell, chef and owner of Twenty Kitchen & Bar
As the chef and owner of Twenty Kitchen & Bar, Pennell is one of the ones in the know. She loves sourcing locally and believes others in her age group are looking for restaurants that do the same. “You know, I’m in my 30s now, so it’s like people in my generation… we’re looking for places that are sustainable. We want stuff that’s fresh, and that’s important to us…” she says.
When speaking about sourcing locally for her restaurant, she says, “I think a lot of it started at Twenty [when] we wanted to showcase local wines. Especially now, there’s been all these micro-wineries opening and people who are making wines out of other wineries.”
That ethos also extends to the food. “Niagara is such a beautiful place to grow food and we’re very lucky to have so much agriculture. It’s always nice to know where your food’s coming from — and I love seeing places that are growing stuff,” Pennell says. She takes inspiration from the fresh ingredients and enjoys the creative challenge of planning dishes based on what’s in season.
Pennell believes she is in an ideal position for sourcing in the region, since her space is on the smaller side. “That’s what’s fun about having a little space [with] 30 seats. I don’t need a lot. I’ve worked in places where you need a ton of produce — and I’m just like, I’ll have five pounds and it’ll be good for my week.”
She finds the restaurant’s sources through word of mouth, at farmers’ markets and even products such as morels from her friend’s family’s fruit farm. Finding these locally grown products gets Pennell’s creative juices flowing.
“Sometimes, I can sit and think about a dish for ages and nothing comes of it,” Pennell says. “But when someone comes by and says, ‘hey, I’ve got a bunch of this stuff,’ I’m like, all right — let’s do something. That’s always really fun. That’s when I really feel like I’m a chef.”
When asked about mushrooms and foraging, Pennell says, “I have a guy who forages. He comes in literally covered in mud and sometimes I don’t even recognize him. He walks in [and says], ‘I’ve got ramps for you.’ He does that with some mushrooms like chanterelles and morels. Brought me a bunch of garlic mustard, too, which I guess is super invasive.”
Robby Noseworthy of Flower Child Farm and Garden
Pennell notes an air of caution. “You want to make sure the right people are making sure that ecosystems are thriving and we’re going to continue to have those mushrooms and ramps in the future,” she says. After all, Pennell wants to protect one of her favourite ingredients — ramps. “I’m very passionate about ramps. I love when people come in and they don’t know what it is and they love it, too, and they want to learn about it. I get to geek out and say like, yeah, they’re in the wild and they’re only good for three weeks of the year. That’s what makes them so special… because if we always had them, it would just be like everyone would have garlic breath all the time.”
On the not-so-secretive side, there’s Robby Noseworthy of Flower Child Farm and Garden who wants to help people be in the know. He has a strong passion for mushroom growing and shares it freely. “I love to teach as well. So if there’s anybody out there that is even remotely interested in growing mushrooms personally or on a more productive scale, I would be more than happy to help,” he says.
He sells to the public at the St. Catharines Farmers Market and to a few restaurant clients. “I’m a big believer in the farmers’ market. It really helps create a community and helps people meet the farmers, so they can have a stronger connection to their food.”
Noseworthy grows mushrooms including oysters, lion’s mane and chestnuts. “We go right from the spore and culture, so we do absolutely everything when it comes to mushroom farming.”
That level of involvement helps explain why some growers stay tight-lipped — there’s a lot to it. “If you’re just growing maybe a little bit of mushrooms at home, it can be quite easy. But when you’re scaling up to more of a commercial production, it does get quite challenging,” Noseworthy says.
“It does require a lab setting, so you can grow out from spore and from fu
ngal cultures. [Mushrooms] pretty much live in the microverse, which is… absolute chaos. Anything can come in and contaminate pretty much anything that you’re working with, but the lab will create a sterile environment,” he says. The spores grow in substrate that must be sterilized or pasteurized to eliminate contaminants.
Controlling the growing medium and environment early on can be risky, but, as Noseworthy says, “Once everything’s ready to grow, it’s actually quite easy.”
Niagara company Funky Funghi helps people grow mushrooms at home — no foraging or lab settings needed. Its grow kits come as prepared blocks. It’s as simple as cutting them open, misting them daily to maintain humidity and keeping them in a cool, dark environment for spores to develop. The kits include varieties such as blue oyster, black oyster, elm oyster and lion’s mane, with new options in development. Funky Funghi is owned by two brothers and based in Pelham, Ont. Anthony and Michael Pasto combine small-scale farming, food and marketing to build the product line.
“There are always challenges in growing because a lot of times you fail if there’s any bacteria — they die, they don’t grow — blocks don’t produce. So everything has to be very sterile, a clean environment and everything’s grown organically,” Anthony says. Producers work the same way. There are no pesticides, no fertilizers, nothing like that.”
Beyond grow-your-own kits, developed through trial and error, Funky Funghi also produces mushrooms for risotto meal kits and dried products. “What we’ve done is created a line of soups and risotto dried in a bag. They’re all organic, plant-based, gluten-free. No salt. You just add it to your broth of choice, stir and eat — it’s that simple. You’re getting four good portions per bag and very healthy foods made fast; not fast food,” Anthony says. When asked about personal favourites, he points to lion’s mane. “Well, lion’s mane is a big one — it’s good for your brain. So we have two risottos with lion’s mane. We have a lion’s mane and beet risotto, and lion’s mane with pumpkin and sage.”
For those curious about Niagara’s mushroom scene, Funky Funghi offers an accessible entry point — one that brings the growing process into homes. That’s how Noseworthy got his start — with a grow block at home. “Since then, I became obsessed with the process and just kept digging and digging on the internet about how [to] create a farm out of this. How [to] scale it,” he says.
Exploring Niagara’s mushroom community reveals a network of growers, chefs and enthusiasts working to better understand this unique crop. Farmers’ markets, restaurants and home-grow kits offer different ways to connect with mushrooms beyond the forest floor. While the region’s mushroom culture is still developing, growers say there is plenty of room for curiosity, experimentation and growth.
Twenty Kitchen & Bar
259 St Paul St, St. Catharines
twentyrestaurant.ca | @twentykitchenbar
Flower Child Farm and Garden
@flowerchildfarmandgarden
Funky Funghi
775 Church St., Fenwick
funkyfunghi.ca | @ff_mushrooms
