Co-founder Malcolm Clark searches for Cordyceps in Nepal, 1995
We have been pioneers in organic mushroom cultivation — for culinary and nutraceutical applications — since 1977.
We have produced mushroom extracts for health food applications since our inception as a mushroom farm. Gourmet Mushrooms was founded in 1977 and quickly gained renown for trailblazing in commercial mushroom cultivation. Our nutraceutical arm began with the cultivation of Reishi, Cordyceps, and Shiitake, but quickly grew to add more varieties prized for their medicinal properties in Chinese medicine. We were the first farm to commercially cultivate Lion’s Mane — or “Pompom Blanc", as we called it then.
Our fresh mushroom division, Mycopia Mushrooms, has a national reputation for our high quality, flavorful specialty mushrooms.
Our guarantees
Certified Organic and Certified Kosher
Non-GMO
Mycelial biomass and fruit body products are gluten-free and vegan/vegetarian
Minimally processed, no preservatives or processing aids
Free of residual solvents, pesticides, and other harsh chemicals
Fully vertically integrated operation from spore to finish
Grown in the USA
100% American-sourced substrate ingredients
Advancing a legacy of innovation
Mission-driven Origins
Co-founder Malcolm Clark on an expedition to collect strains of Cordyceps sinesis in Nepal, 1995
Our mycological roots trace back to Dr. Tsuneto Yoshii, a world renowned mycologist from Japan who studied the cultivation of medicinal and culinary mushrooms. His mission was “to pursue the research and development of edible fungi for the benefit of mankind.” Dr. Yoshii entrusted his legacy to our co-founder Malcolm Clark, a British-born biologist who carried that mission forward into the 21st century.
Malcolm’s business partner, co-founder and CEO David Law, was born in Hong Kong and raised within a culinary and medicinal legacy steeped in mycological tradition. His imprinted interest in mushrooms and training in biology and business made their partnership a natural one, and from the beginning, they pursued the cultivation of mushrooms for both health and culinary uses.
Decades of Firsts
Gourmet Mushrooms, Inc. was the first commercial grower of both Shiitake and Lion’s Mane mushrooms in North America
Our farm got its start in 1977 as the first commercial cultivators of Shiitake in the Western Hemisphere.
In 1983, our co-founder Malcolm Clark came across the mushroom Hericium erinaceus — Lion’s Mane — in California. After camping next to the mushroom for nearly a week, Malcolm was able to take a tissue culture of this mushroom and successfully develop the mushroom to the extent of controlled cultivation. David and Malcolm then developed the culinary market for Hericium erinaceus in the United States.
In the 1990s, Malcolm went on an expedition to Nepal to collect strains of Cordyceps sinensis, the caterpillar fungi, long prized in Chinese tradition for its medicinal properties. The fungal isolate he returned with, Bionectria ostroleuca or Cordy-Gen, is part of the fungal community associated with Cordyceps sinensis and is used to support vitality and recovery.
Innovation for the Future
Our state-of-the-art facilities advance our mission with uncompromising quality in West Michigan
We operate a state-of-the-art facility in our Scottville, Michigan farm, continuing our legacy of providing top-quality mycelial biomass products while innovating new and emerging technologies for bringing the power of mushrooms to new food, wellness, and health applications. We remain one of an elite few US companies that is fully vertically integrated, managing every step of production in our own facilities from spawn to shipped product.
Today, we offer mycelial biomass, fruit body, and extracts, and grow more varieties of culinary and nutraceutical mushrooms than any other farm in North America.
We continue to live out Dr. Yoshii’s mission to pursue the research and development of edible fungi for the benefit of mankind.
1977 —
Selected Sonoma County to start the business due to its mild temperatures and proximity to the San Francisco market. Bought and converted an abandoned chicken farm in Sonoma County to start the business, and became the first to commercially cultivate Shiitake mushrooms in North America.
1995 —
Co-founder and mycologist Malcolm Clark, along with two researchers from the Yoshi Micological Institute, take four days to trek up the Himalayas to secure strains of Cordyceps sinensis (Bionectria ochroleuca).
2005 —
Gourmet Mushrooms, Inc. receives Organic certification from the USDA.
2014 —
Gourmet Mushrooms, Inc. opens a farm in Scottville, MI to keep up with growing demand.
2027 —
Gourmet Mushrooms will celebrate 50 years of culinary and nutraceutical mushroom cultivation!
— 1976
The idea for Gourmet Mushrooms, Inc. came in 1976, when Malcolm Clark, who was lab director at Boreal Biological Laboratories in Toronto, and David Law, a graduate business student at the University of Wisconsin, met through a mutual friend.
— 1983
A fruitful camping trip leads to the farm to become the first to successfully commercially cultivate Lion’s Mane — then given the brand name Pompon Blanc®, also known as Pom Pom.
— 2001
Begin construction of a new, 43,000 square-foot facility in Sebastopol, enabling us to expand our culinary and nutraceutical production capacity. In 2003, our first harvest was picked and shipped from the new farm.
— 2010
Begin growing Maitake Frondosa, also known as Hen of the Woods. This mushroom is prized for its health benefits as both a culinary and nutraceutical mushroom.
— 2024
We move our nutraceutical operations from California to dedicated facilities in our Michigan farm, expanding production and accelerating R&D.
Founders Malcolm Clark and David Law celebrate their first successful cultivation of shiitake, 1977
Before this 1992 visit to our farm, Julia Child had never seen cultivated mushrooms other than White Buttons
Our original Yoshii-style production system for shiitake
Founders Malcolm and David upon successful cultivation of Alba Clamshell
