Joe’s Story
Meet Joe
This is the mug behind your mug.
I have been enthralled with the fungal kingdom for many moons now and have taken a deep dive into the world of mycelium. I love my work, enjoy the benefits of these superfoods and am passionate about sharing them with others.
I have been working with food for the past 10 years. I have a large garden that produces a majority of the fresh veg for my wife and I.
Read on to hear more of my back story.
Passion is formed and forged with time and experience.
My Journey into fine food is a story of solution
Money was tight, my hedonistic desires were many and I needed a way to improve my culinary skills. My solution was to round up a group of friends and get them to chip in for a 5 course meal that I would pedantically plan, provision, prep and serve. These are some of my fondest memories of university, studying forestry science and they surly set the stage for my culinary pursuits.
To the Mountains
Later I found myself working as a chef in a luxury Chalet in the French Alps, cooking hearty meals for hungry guests, and spending my days exploring the beautiful alpine landscapes.
Mountains led to oceans
I spent a number of summers working as a chef on Super yachts. Throughout my time at sea, a deep unease developed in me. The waste, excess and disconnection from food, as well as the environment as a whole unsettled me.
Inspirational Wonderland
This unease led me to the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland. Set on a 100-acre organic farm, my time here helped to not only deepen my knowledge and refine my culinary skills, but gave me a deep reverence for where food comes from and a passion for using locally grown, quality ingredients. It was during this time I developed a hunger for growing food and sowed the spawn of starting a mushroom growing business.
Mushroom farm
My growing pursuits began wherever I could find a space; cupboards, laundry rooms and cellars. Thankfully In 2017 my wife and I bought a lifestyle property in sunny Nelson, where we inoculated logs and built a mushroom shed. We delighted in growing and selling fresh and healthy oyster mushrooms at our local farmers market. We also created a delicious range of preserves.
Wildwood is born
As a mushroom grower and through my extensive reading, I became passionate about all of the supportive health and environmental benefits mushrooms could offer. For me the obvious next step was to share this passion in the most delicious way possible. From here Wildwood was born.