MEMO ON SHIITAKE
✓ It is a medicinal and gastronomic mushroom originating from the Far East. The Chinese nickname it “elixir of long life.”
✓ Very rich in nutrients, especially in vitamin D, proteins, zinc, selenium, copper, and lentinan, an active compound responsible for its numerous properties.
✓ Studies have proven its benefits for the immune system and heart, as well as its anti-cancer potential.
✓ Today, this mushroom is the second most cultivated species after the button mushroom.
La Caverne, the first organic urban farm in Paris
This summer, during the Parisian heatwave, we found refuge in the first organic urban farm in Paris, intrigued by shiitakes that a team of passionate people has been growing for several years. We love shiitakes and mushrooms in general, for all their nutritional, therapeutic, ecological, and other potentials (see my recent op-ed in Usbek & Rica on this subject)!
You access this Alice in Wonderland burrow by taking a path between two buildings, winding underground in a spiral. A dog stands guard, surprised to see intruders in La Caverne in the middle of August. Olivier Akesso, site manager, welcomes us and tells us the history of the place.
In 2016, the Paris city council launched a call for projects to transform this underground parking lot, abandoned for several years. Cycloponics, a startup specializing in converting urban underground spaces into organic food production areas, won the contract.
At the initiative of this project, Jean-Noël Gertz, a thermal engineer and founder of the Edible Bunker in Strasbourg and Théophile Champagnat, an agronomist and nomadic cook. They gathered a team around them that developed La Caverne, the first organic urban farm in Paris!
The farm stretches over 8,000 square meters and hosts various crops and projects. Due to its size and resources, it is also a prime location for cold storage and logistics. Thus, you meet friendly startups as you wander through the galleries, some focusing on R&D and others beginning to market their products.
Smart Farming System develops models of vertical farms to install in supermarkets, Superette grows aromatic plants, taking care to keep their roots for replanting “plugs” at home or in a cocktail bar, for instance, and Wesh Grow cultivates delicious microgreens under pink LEDs.
Paris Shiitakes
We continue our exploration of La Caverne, under the LED light that has replaced the neon lights. Olivier shows us substrates on which shiitakes (and oyster mushrooms, which they also grow) are grown.
It may not be widely known, but mushrooms grown off the ground can obtain the organic label if grown traditionally on straw or wooden logs.
Here, we use substrates composed of organic straw and wheat bran, sourced from Brittany.
The temperature drops immediately, but the humidity is multiplied! It can reach 70 to 95% in the mushroom farm. Shiitakes develop well from 10°C, doubling in size every day!
La Caverne harvests 250 kg of shiitakes per year, and about the same amount for oyster mushrooms. Customers include Parisian grocers, chefs, individuals, and organic cooperatives. The majority of deliveries are made by bicycle, with 90% occurring in the Île-de-France region. This locality ensures that the price for these fresh and organic shiitakes remains attractive: €18/kg for individuals.
One might still question the energy cost of an underground farm, foreign to seasons and sunlight. Mushrooms require little light, and endives (another major product of La Caverne) grow in the dark, so light is not an issue.
These are inherently low-energy crops. Moreover, the farm respects the seasons, even underground! Regarding the microgreens seen earlier, they are grown under LEDs, a low-consumption and long-lifespan lighting.
Finally, the site operates with energy sourced 100% from renewable sources.
The project also has a social dimension. There’s no question of being a hipster ecosystem turned inward. La Caverne hires locally, favoring employees from the neighborhood and social housing above it. Residents also benefit from preferential prices for the farm’s products.
In 2019, Cycloponics developed a new underground project in the suburbs of Bordeaux: the Cave Agricole! Possibly the subject of a future report?
Recently, the farm has been offering processed products: soups, sauces, terrines… You’ll leave with your arms full of local, plant-based vitamin D! An ideal address for all Paris region mushroom lovers who cherish the wonderful shiitake 🍄 🍄 🍄
