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If you know me, you know that I started this blog because I love good SA business. And although this specific business might be a little bit different than what I normally cover, SA Mushrooms fits the bill when it comes to passionate people doing great work and creating once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for the economy of our state.
SA Mushrooms has grown to become the largest privately owned mushroom farm in South Australia. From small beginnings as a family-run farm; the business today has grown into a primary supplier of mushrooms to major supermarkets, independent greengrocers and produce markets nationwide.
With the initial fantastic invitation from SA Mushroom which invited us to the Farm Tour & Long Lunch, I knew we were going to be in for an absolute treat for this boujee day within the mushrooms.
On a beautifully sunny Saturday afternoon, a handful of Adelaide food bloggers and influentials headed to the SA Mushrooms Farm (located in Waterloo Corner, SA) for a long lunch like no other!
Being greeted with BBQ Mushrooms on ciabatta on arrival, we tasted Virgara Wines and chatted to like-minded mushroom loves before being addressed by the business owners and taken on a completely unique VIP tour of the farming facility.
Did you know that mushrooms grow at a rate of 1mm per hour? PER HOUR! These mushrooms grow FAST! And can turn through a significant amount of product before the workday even ends; which is super good news for those mushrooms lovers you just can't get enough. When they say farm to table, they really mean a mushroom that was picked that day could end up on your plate for dinner.
I also learned that every single mushroom is handpicked and only touched one time between starting its little mushroom journey and ending up in front of your face at your grocery of choice - besides that one mushroom I touched because the tease was too much. (I know what you're thinking, this is actually really interesting stuff to learn about mushrooms?! Don't worry, I was shook too sis).
Look how pretty these mushrooms are! Good enough to eat.
After our tour of the climate-controlled facility, the wafting smells of the kitchen were too much to ignore and we sat down alongside old friends and new faces to enjoy a perfectly curated menu by Chef Judyta, which featured (at this stage, you know what's coming next don't you) mushrooms.
We had mushrooms here, mushrooms there, mushrooms in pasta and mushrooms pureed. It was a whole lotta mushrooms, and a hell of a lot of good food in general. For starters we had mushroom antipasti; that included olives, pickled vegetables, cherry tomatoes, a selection of cured meats, cheeses, cream cheese, and a mushroom-infused dip along. We had a pasta Rotolo stuffed with ricotta cheese, spinach and (a heap of) mushrooms. There was tender quail meat served alongside olives, peas, and peppers, as well as thickly cut slabs of tender Italian roast lamb, served with olives, shallots, garlic, peas and (yes, more) mushrooms. Lastly, we had Fig Crostata alongside some homemade biscotti and some very, very, well-needed COFFEE.
So, this absolutely was the most amount of mushrooms I've eaten in one sitting. And you know what? It works; with so many ways to prepare and cook your mushrooms, each course had distinctly different tastes, flavours, and textures depending on how the chef approached each dish.
To keep the mushroom love going, we were sent home with some finely sliced SA Mushroom's and their Rosetta's Gourmet Kitchen Mushroom Creme Sauce - for us to try our hand at cooking with their fresh produce ourselves.
A big thank you to SA Mushrooms and their staff (specifically Jessica Gerardis!) for inviting The Iconic Blonde along to one of the best events we've ever had the pleasure of experiencing! Thank you!!
Check out their recipes here.
