CT mushroom farmer grows fungi called ‘true work of art,’ and good for you too

Patrick Blanchette’s Union City Farm mushroom shop is understated from the outside, so when first time customers walk in and see the brightly colored mushrooms of various shapes and sizes they are often overcome with emotion.

“I’ve had people walk into the shop and get tears in their eyes,” Blanchette said.” People walk in and it’s like they’re transformed.”

Blanchette, 38, went from a corporate insurance career to become a mushroom farmer a year ago.

“They’re a true work of art,” said regular customer Jeff Dyer. “And they taste amazing, especially the lion’s mane.”

Blanchette had planned to sell his mushrooms at farmer’s markets and to restaurants, but he doesn’t have enough product to do that because he sells out too fast.

“The best part of this job is seeing people’s responses (to cooking with mushrooms). Sometimes they’ll send recipe pictures.”

Blanchette knew 100 percent that he wanted out of the insurance industry when he bought the house and acre of land at 2 Union City Road in Prospect, on a main drag.

But the avid gardener, a vegan, wasn’t sure where the journey would take him.

Growing mushrooms wasn’t on the list of potentials, but growing micro greens was considered.

He did the research and one expert told him the market was saturated and suggested Blanchette try mushrooms.

As it would turn out, he had a perfect setting for growing mushrooms as the home’s garage/basement on the street facing side was built into a hill.

He learned everything he could about growing mushrooms and built his own equipment to save money.

The pristine “grow room” where the mushrooms flourish, growing in bags, is fully visible through a large glass window in the shop.

The mushroom shop itself is immaculate, cozy and colorful, decorated with reclaimed wood refinished by Blanchette.

Besides carrying 15 types of mushrooms at various times of the year, the shop sells a few other products made mostly by Blanchette. There’s pepper relish made from peppers he grows, hot sauces, mushroom jerky, tinctures and teas.

Customers say they adore the whole package at Union City and the amazing taste of Blanchette’s always freshly picked product, but it’s the healthful benefits of mushrooms that are the real draw.

Every mushroom is picked either the day of sale or the day before, Blanchette said. Each has various health benefits, he said, such as lion’s mane that works on brain health, clearing fogginess and improving memory, and oyster mushrooms help high blood pressure and cholesterol.

All have immunity-building qualities.

Dyer’s favorite is “crab cake” made from mushroom and “steak” from lion’s mane.

“The health benefits from them are noticeable and don’t take long to see a change,” Dyer, of Southington said.

He said Blanchette “made the daring decision to quit his job,” and the successful result is “a testament to the transformative power of dreams pursued with unwavering dedication.”

Caitlyn Cerasale of Prospect said the, “quality, freshness, and variety of mushrooms” offered by Blanchette is unmatched and his expert advice on preparation and recipes creates can’t be compared to buying mushrooms from a grocery store.

“Mushrooms are a total superfood, and consuming them only has furthered my understanding that food can nourish the body and soul beyond just eating,” Cerasale said. “There are so many nutritional and medicinal components to mushrooms, and with an infinite number of ways to prepare the different varieties, they have been the perfect addition to plant-based meals in my diet.”

Kathleen Schurman of Bethany, of Locket’s Meadow Farm Animal Sanctuary and Duck’s Truck vegan food trailer was awed when she walked through the door at Union City, especially over the lion’s mane.

“When I found out I could get it fresh, I was over the moon,” noting that lion’s main when cooked properly is the texture of lobster and crab meat, she said.

Blanchette found when he started a plant-based diet that the types of mushrooms available in grocery stores is limited.

When he started, Blanchette bought a kit for making mushrooms and, “They came out terrible, but I loved watching them grow,” he said, as every day they doubled in size.

“It was amazing to grow them so then I started looking at the health benefits,” he said.

He had to be careful with money so Blanchette so instead of buying fancy equipment, he made his own.

“I just wanted to go in 1,000 percent,” he said.

He did a test run and the mushrooms flourished.

He grows in high humidity and there’s a 90 percent fresh air exchange in the mushroom “spa,” as he calls it. The exhaust fan runs for five minutes every 10 minutes. The space is geothermal, he said.

Blanchette said he grew up in a family of four children and ate a lot of unhealthy filler food such as mac and cheese, hot dogs and beans and pizza.

But Blanchette said he became a “foodie” and learned about food when he was 14 and his stepmom took a culinary course.

At first many customers said, “They’re beautiful, but how do we cook them?” Blanchette gives tips on that too.

“I wanted to be able to have people come and shop and be able to give them advice,” he said.

His personal favorite is the Maitake mushroom, more commonly known as hen of the woods — not to be confused with chicken of the woods. He sautés the mushroom and adds salt, pepper.

“It has a beautiful taste all by itself. It has a great flavor profile,” Blanchette said.

He said his mushrooms are “like little sculptures.”

“If there was a way to put them outside I would,” he said. Instead he has a simple sign that reads: “Bring Home a Fungi.”