Devon Gilroy says he has a natural understanding of plants because his mother is a horticulturalist and landscape designer. But he still didn’t expect his career path to lead to becoming the founder and CEO of a 15,000-square-foot mushroom farm in the rolling hills of Columbia County, N.Y. Tivoli Mushrooms keeps expanding its operation to meet the ever-increasing demand for locally farmed and culinarily prized maitake, oyster, lion’s mane, and beech mushrooms. When we spoke this past July, the company had just harvested 3,600 pounds, making it their best week ever. The company also launched a sister business named Go Mushrooms that purveys potent medicinal mushrooms in various formats.

KATY SPARKS

Devon, tell me about how you arrived at launching a mushroom farm?

DEVON GILROY

I’m a former chef, and this is all accidental! I was exposed to mushrooms as a young cook working at the legendary Chanterelle restaurant in New York City. It was a wonderful experience, and something about mushrooms piqued my interest, which then became a little bit of an obsession. I think this happened because I couldn’t quite figure out why, despite having mushrooms on most of the menus at the restaurant, there was something secretive about them. Maybe it’s because they are so elusive, hard to find, hard to store, and expensive.

Once I moved to the Hudson Valley to cook, I started walking my dog in the woods to identify and collect mushrooms before my shift at the restaurant. And my company grew from that. We started as a wild-food business where I would go out foraging then call up my friends and local chefs to see what they would like to take. It grew to a point where it became such a large part of my life that I would go out to the woods every day. It is a deep mediation as you are looking and deeply focusing. But as winter came, I was looking for a way to fill that void, so I started cultivating mushrooms—first just in my home. Later, I decided to build a mushroom farm with no previous experience! I knew I could figure it out, but I paid a lot of dues that way. It probably could have been a lot smoother if I had gone to work for someone already in the business for a few years. But I was lucky to have some great mentors.

SPARKS

What do you think draws chefs to using mushrooms so liberally and enthusiastically?

GILROY

There is something special and fleeting about the relationship we can have with mushrooms since they have a relatively short storage life (about three to four days in the refrigerator). There is also something niche and special about cooking wild mushrooms, in particular. Right now, the local chanterelles are incredible—their flavor is really apricot heavy, which is indicative of this area.

SPARKS

Nick, is the plant-forward diet that some Americans are leaning toward fueling part of the amazing growth that Tivoli Mushrooms is experiencing?

NICK SUAREZ

Absolutely. In the past I was a chef/owner myself, but now I tend toward cooking more vegetarian meals at home. I think the overall wellness sector is expanding rapidly, which is why we have our sister business called Go Mushrooms where we produce extractions, honeys, tinctures, and oxymels (plant-based remedies with a vinegar and honey base). So, we’re not just about culinary mushrooms.

SPARKS

I just started cooking more lion’s mane mushrooms because of the purported brain-health-supporting attributes of that fungus but also to eat a little less animal protein. Because both of you are chefs, what is your favorite way to cook lion’s mane?

SUAREZ

We used to do a fried-fish taco at Gaskins (Nick’s restaurant in Germantown, N.Y.), and when I got a little bored of that, I started making a lion’s mane taco. I panko crusted and deep fried it, and it became this crunchy mushroom nugget with a silky inner texture with a bite that mimics chicken or crab.

GILROY

I’m a big fan of making lion’s mane parm. It’s my go to. You have to be careful not to cook the lion’s mane in too much oil though—they are like a sponge, so just use a little oil. Then I add lightly cured San Marzano tomatoes with fresh basil—yummy!

SPARKS

Where can customers find your mushrooms?

SUAREZ

My main job is to make more varieties available for people, so we’re at 25 farmers’ markets this year. At the farmers’ markets, we can educate people about new varieties and offer tastings.

GILROY

What you see at most grocery stores is not what you’re going to see from us. But we self-distribute to certain high-quality grocery stores like Adams Fairacre Farms and Guido’s Markets.

SPARKS

And how do you spend the BerkShares you take in?

GILROY

Our business partner who works at the farmers’ markets takes advantage of using them as he takes them in. I’ll have to ask him where he’s spending them!

SPARKS

Is there anything I didn’t ask that you’d like to share?

GILROY

Mushroom farming went super industrial early on and all centered in Pennsylvania. When I first started doing this over 10 years ago, there were over 100 farms in Pennsylvania, and now there are just 15. Industrial farmers are consolidating, but the quality is diminishing. Now people are starting to focus on smaller, localized operations and seeing the quality and diversity that comes from that choice. I think people will increasingly have more opportunities to buy local.