The Original Paris Brown Mushrooms

80 km from Paris, in Villers-Cotterêts, Bruno Calegari and his family have been growing Paris mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, and shitake on their farm for three generations! Bruno and his team are one of the few traditional mushroom growers left in France (there used to be 300 farms in 1880!) and the team handpicked all the mushrooms daily to ensure their freshness!

The team grows their mushrooms in a well-insulated underground cellar across 15 hectares of sand, wood chips, and perfectly balanced substrates in the dark. As they’re grown underground, they are unaffected by rain, wind, or snow. This allows them to control the amount of light, ventilation, and humidity levels, in turn creating the perfect environment for them to grow in.

Sadly, due to the name ‘Champignon de Paris’ not being protected, there are mushrooms produced in Holland, Poland, and even China available on the French market, overshadowing the original Paris mushrooms.

The Calegari mushrooms have a slightly nutty taste and a firm texture, which means they don’t release water and their shape holds when cooking. They may not be as standardised but because they are grown in such rich soil and conditions, they have more flavours, characteristics and nutrients than their counterparts!

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