Whether pretty in pink, or fluffy like a lion’s mane, mushrooms come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and no one knows that better than Sienna Wolgast.
“I love the way they taste. I like that when you cook with them, they take on the flavor you cook them with,” says Wolgast. “I love the way they look. I never imagined, before growing this, that I was going to grow something that was so pretty.”
She is the co-owner of Wolgast Mushrooms, along with her husband Ben Wolgast.
The couple started this homegrown business during the pandemic, when Ben was let go from his job. As Sienna puts it, he couldn’t sit still, so he decided to look into growing gourmet mushrooms, something he enjoyed doing as a kid. After watching tutorials on YouTube, he transformed their basement and they started growing mushrooms in spring of 2020. Just a few months later, in August, they sold their first clump.
It wasn’t long before Sienna had to make Wolgast Mushrooms her sole job. With a lot of footwork, she started securing some regular clients, the chefs at local restaurants.
The first restaurant to jump on board was Three Cats Café in Clawson, and Sylvan Table in Sylvan Lake followed shortly thereafter. Currently, they are supplying 6 restaurants with their mushrooms.
“Love love love meeting chefs,” says Sienna. “And I like going to the restaurants and trying the dishes they make with our mushrooms.”
The types of mushrooms they grow generally depend on what their clients want, and what is in season. Right now, they have pink oysters, blue oysters, king blue, lion’s mane, snow, and pioppini. The whole process takes 4 to 6 weeks from planting to harvesting, and they produce about 200 pounds of mushrooms per week.
To see the full process, watch the video above.
If you want to try Wolgast mushrooms, and you’re not a professional chef, don’t worry, she sells them over the Wolgast Mushroom Facebook page, and she plans to be at the Oak Park Farmer’s Market this year as well.