Dishing Up Exotic Mushrooms All Year

By: Cheri Browne | June 28 2011
Posted in Rogue Valley - Cook It - Rogue Valley

Louis Jeandin shows customers a recipe for Steamed Halibut. All photos by: Cheri Browne

Ever since Louis “Mushroom Man” Jeandin, owner of Mushrooms All Year, was knee-high, he’s been foraging through forests and fields harvesting wild mushrooms. Following in his ancestor’s footsteps, and carrying on an old European family tradition started in his native French Alps, he brought his wild-crafted mushroom eye stateside and turned his passion into a small, successful business. The Oregon climate is perfect, he says, for year-round growth, which offers a bountiful variety of wild mushrooms throughout every season.

Fresh maitake mushrooms and other foraged varities for sale.

During the spring and summer months, he deals mainly with Morel, Porcini, and Lobster mushrooms, and special treats like Mountain Huckleberries. The fall and winter months see more varieties like Chantrelles, Matsutake, Black Trumpets, Hedgehogs, Yellow Feet, and Black and White Truffles. He also has specialty items such as Truffle Butter, and some exotic novelties like Sea Beans (also known as Glasswort or Sea Asparagus), and Ramps. Dried mushroom assortments are also available year-round. His website features a recipe page where those wondering how to get the most out of their mushrooms can find simple, yet delicious suggestions, cataloged by mushroom type.

Jeandin started out selling his freshly found mushrooms to a few local restaurants, and now ships them to a variety of upscale stores and restaurants countrywide as well. He can be found locally at the Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market every Tuesday and Saturday in Ashland, and every Thursday in Medford. In the fall and winter months, he also teaches cooking classes featuring his freshly harvested wild mushrooms at The Willows cooking school. Individual orders can be place online as well, or by phone.