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Book Size: Standard Landscape 10x8

mu

shroom

Hope Moseley

Table of Contents

Dedication • 4

Foreword • 6

Introduction • 8

The Roots & Stem • 12

The Gills • 18

The Cap • 24

Conclusion • 28

Works Cited • 302

I dedicate this book to Toby Garrone

who has introduced me to the world of

mushrooms.

I would also like to dedicate this book

to my Mother and my Father who have

given me the gift of work ethic. And,

thanks to Matt for his design experience.

Dedication

4

ForewordThe day my mother brought me to the Farmers’ market was the first

time I got to experience the love of food coming from family-owned

businesses. It wasn’t the rushing people bumping into me that made me

love the farmers’ market: it was the unique experience at each individual

6

Forew

ord

stand. I looked around me and saw so many stands full of vegetables and fruit, but the one stand that caught my atten-tion was the mushroom stand.

I walked up to the stand. I didn’t hear the crowds around me or the people pushing up against me. All I could see were the intricate details on the Shiitake mushroom and the fra-grant smell. I just wanted to try all of the different mushrooms at the stand, and it was at that moment that I knew mushrooms would be a part of my life forever.

How did the company come about? How is their business unique from all of the other businesses? While reading

this book, I hope to answer these questions for you along with many other questions. I believe that the pur-pose of this book is to not only inform people on the company itself, but to get people to start buying from family-owned businesses.

The Shiitake mushroom is split up into three parts: the roots and stem, the gills, and finally the cap. Each part of the mushroom is just as important as the other, just like each person that makes up the company. You’ll notice that each chapter is named after each part of the mushroom. I made this sty-listic choice to give my paper a meta-phorical unity.

7

Introduction Imagine you are at your local grocery store. You walk by a very big variety

of fruits and see a sign that says, “Fresh, crispy, apples.” You grab a plastic

bag and start filling up your bag because you think that these red Fuji ap-

ples are going to be exactly what the sign says, fresh and crispy. You bite

8

Intr

od

utio

ninto one of the apples and a waxy coating fills your mouth and in-stead of experiencing crispy, you experience a soft foamy texture. Most people think that because the apples are coming from the grocery store, the apples are go-ing to be healthier for you. There is a common phrase, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” but the truth is eating an aple a day from a grocery store could possibly result in you visiting a doctor every day. People all over the world go to the grocery store almost every day. How many exactly? Nobody really knows because the amount of people that go to the grocery store increases each day. Food is and will always be vital to people.

But if people truly knew the route the apple on the shelf took from point A to point B, no one would buy the apples off the shelves of supermarkets. In reality, industrial growers

delay the ripening of apples by spraying them with gasses that will keep them fresh for up to six months before they hit the shelves. SIX WHOLE MONTHS! (Renton) This is exactly why the Farmers’ market is the best place to buy fresh produce. The Farmers’ market is full of many vendors which supply everything your heart desires, from flowers to ice cream. Far West Fungi does this especially well. Customers of Far West Fungi are buying the freshest

9

Top: Shiitake growing room. Lower right: Kyle and John

Garrone in Shiitake growing room.

10

Intr

od

utio

ninto one of the apples and a waxy coat-ing fills your mouth and instead of experiencing crispy, you experience a soft foamy texture. Most people think that because the apples are coming from the grocery store, the apples are going to be healthier for you. There is a com-mon phrase, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” but the truth is eating an aple a day from a grocery store could possibly result in you visiting a doctor

every day. People all over the world go to the grocery store almost every day. How many exactly? Nobody really knows because the amount of people that go to the grocery store increases each day. Food is and will always be vital to people.

But if people truly knew the route the apple on the shelf took from point A to point B, no one would buy the apples off the shelves of supermarkets. In real-ity, industrial growers delay the ripening of apples by spraying them with gasses that will keep them fresh for up to six months before they hit the shelves. SIX

11

The Roots & Stem Toby and John Garrone started to sell big white button mushrooms, small

white mushrooms, and open-cap white button mushrooms at the Saturday

Alemany Market in San Francisco for a friend. When I asked Toby how the

farm began, she giggled to herself: “We got more involved with that farm

12

and more involved with exotic mushrooms and eventually I quit my job and John quit his job and we came together...” Since then Toby and John have brought up their children and their children’s friends at the Farmers’ market. They have also opened up a store at the Ferry Building in San Francisco, which has done im-mensely well. They have built their children’s lives around the world of mushrooms, so it was not a huge surprise when some of their chil-dren went into the mushroom business.

Kyle Garrone is Toby’s son and he is the production manager at the farm, which basically over-sees the farm. He makes sure the farm is producing enough mushrooms and that everyone is on track

with their daily jobs. When I asked Kyle to de-scribe the process of growing the mushrooms, he laughed and said it would take a pretty long time to explain.

He said, “We first start out with the raw ma-terial, our raw material is red oak sawdust. We add rice bran and depending on what species of fungi, we’ll add a calcium supplement, which is either oyster shell flour or gypsum. We mix that all together in the large mixer and we

Th

e R

oots &

Ste

m

13

Top: Steamer.

Lower left: Red oak sawdust.

Lower right: Rice bran

14

and more involved with exotic mushrooms and eventually I quit my job and John quit his job and we came together...” Since then Toby and John have brought up their children and their children’s friends at the Farmers’ market. They have also opened up a store at the Ferry Building in San Francisco, which has done im-mensely well. They have built their children’s lives around the world of mushrooms, so it was not a huge surprise when some of their children went into the mushroom business.

Kyle Garrone is Toby’s son and he is the pro-duction manager at the farm, which basically

oversees the farm. He makes sure the farm is producing enough mushrooms and that every-one is on track with their daily jobs. When I asked Kyle to describe the process of growing the mushrooms, he laughed and said it would take a pretty long time to explain.

He said, “We first start out with the raw ma-terial, our raw material is red oak sawdust. We add rice bran and depending on what species of fungi, we’ll add a calcium supplement, which is either oyster shell flour or gypsum. We mix that all together in the large mixer and we fill these little bags, which you know, are about this size.

15

16

Th

e R

oots &

Ste

ms

and more involved with exotic mushrooms and eventually I quit my job and John quit his job and we came together...” Since then Toby and John have brought up their children and their children’s friends at the Farmers’ market. They have also opened up a store at the Ferry Building in San Francisco, which has done im-mensely well. They have built their children’s

lives around the world of mushrooms, so it was not a huge surprise when some of their chil-dren went into the mushroom business.

Kyle Garrone is Toby’s son and he is the production manager at the farm, which basi-cally oversees the farm. He makes sure the farm is producing enough mushrooms and that ev-eryone is on track with their daily jobs. When

17

The GillsWhen you flip over a mushroom. You see a linear texture and when you

run your fingertips over it you feel a slight fuzzy texture. This interesting

thing you see is called a gill. Most people think the gill of the mushroom

is just another part of the mushroom and does not satisfy anybody. But

18

Th

e G

illsthe truth is, without the gills on a mushroom, the mushroom would not be able to reproduce. They are the main foundation in making new mushrooms grow in the wild. The gills are made up of millions of spores to be soon car-ried away by the wind and land somewhere where the spore could start growing a new mushroom. Far West Fungi provides many varieties of mushrooms and has almost become taken over by the children of Toby and John Garrone. Without the children helping run the company, the company wouldn’t be in as stable a state as it is in now.

“But we felt a part of that family. Being a part of a working family-not just your own family, but a family of people you’re working with, in order to support themselves...if they do well, you do well. If you do well, they do well” (Spector 203). I have been working for Far West Fungi for about four years now. Ever since I have joined the Far West Fungi family, they have welcomed me with open arms. All of

my co-workers shine light onto my life in many different ways. Sean Garrone helps me become more friendly with the customers and gives me excellent knowledge on ways I can tell my customers to cook the different types of mush-rooms. Robbie DeSanto helps me view the little things in my life differently. Morel helps me bring out who I truly am and last but not least, Toby Garrone. She has basically become my second mom. She provides food for me at the markets and cares about me immensely, ask-ing how my week has gone, making sure that everything in school is going okay. Knowing that my co-workers care about me so much, I start to have an emotional connection with the company. I want to make sure the company is doing its very best in serving their customers, the products we are giving out, and the per-sonal connections with the customers. I have experienced working at a non-family business and it is completely different. I honestly didn’t care about what company I was working for or

19

the truth is, without the gills on a mushroom, the mushroom would not be able to reproduce. They are the main foundation in making new mushrooms grow in the wild. The gills are made up of millions of spores to be soon car-ried away by the wind and land somewhere where the spore could start growing a new mushroom. Far West Fungi provides many varieties of mushrooms and has almost become taken over by the children of Toby and John Garrone. Without the children helping run the company, the company wouldn’t be in as stable a state as it is in now.

“But we felt a part of that family. Being a part of a working family-not just your own family, but a family of people you’re working with, in order to support themselves...if they do well, you do well. If you do well, they do well” (Spector 203). I have been working for Far West Fungi for about four years now. Ever since I have joined the Far West Fungi family,

they have welcomed me with open arms. All of my co-workers shine light onto my life in many different ways. Sean Garrone helps me become more friendly with the customers and gives me excellent knowledge on ways I can tell my customers to cook the different types of mush-rooms. Robbie DeSanto helps me view the little things in my life differently. Morel helps me bring out who I truly am and last but not least, Toby Garrone. She has basically become my second mom. She provides food for me at the markets and cares about me immensely, asking how my week has gone, making sure that ev-erything in school is going okay. Knowing that my co-workers care about me so much, I start to have an emotional connection with the com-pany. I want to make sure the company is do-ing its very best in serving their customers, the products we are giving out, and the personal connections with the customers. I have expe-rienced working at a non-family business and

20

Th

e G

illsit is completely different. I honestly didn’t care about what company I was working for or what kind of vibe I was givingoff to the customers. I, along with many of the employees, only cared about getting paid and how well the job looked on our resume.

The Far West Fungi stand attracts a diverse group of people. Every Sunday people just come to look for a mushroom to cook with. Far West Fungi isn’t targeted to a certain race or gender. That’s part of what makes organic produce so unique; at the Farmers’ market it’s readily available for anybody. According to Spector mom and pop stores are important: “Mom and Pop stores…are about something big. They are important not only for food…but also providing us with intellectual stimulation, social interaction and connections to our com-munities” (Spector 4). By writing this, Spector is telling us that mom and pop stores are really important: they help shape who we are. Robbie

“I’m quite shy and don’t enjoy

large crowds … but, working in a

market with a lot of people … you

kind of have to be sort of extro-

verted as to introverted.”

— Robbie DeSanto

21

the truth is, without the gills on a mushroom, the mushroom would not be able to reproduce. They are the main foundation in making new mushrooms grow in the wild. The gills are made up of millions of spores to be soon car-ried away by the wind and land somewhere where the spore could start growing a new mushroom. Far West Fungi provides many varieties of mushrooms and has almost become taken over by the children of Toby and John Garrone. Without the children helping run the company, the company wouldn’t be in as stable a state as it is in now.

“But we felt a part of that family. Being a part of a working family-not just your own family, but a family of people you’re working with, in order to support themselves...if they do well, you do well. If you do well, they do well” (Spector 203). I have been working for Far West Fungi for about four years now. Ever since I have joined the Far West Fungi family, they have welcomed me with open arms. All of my co-workers shine light onto my life in many different ways. Sean Garrone helps me become more friendly with the customers and gives me excellent knowledge on ways I can tell my customers to cook the different types of mushrooms. Robbie DeSanto helps me view 22

Th

e G

ills“They are a priority for

us to maintain a good

relationship with and

also to increase our pro-

duction to keep meeting

their needs.”

— Toby Garrone

The CapThe main part of the mushroom is the cap, which is made up of hyphae

that are tightly interwoven into a solid mass. The solid mass is made up

of vitamin D. Sunshine shines down on the mushroom and vitamin D is

produced when the mushroom absorbs light. Toby is like the cap of the

24

Th

e C

ap

mushroom, she is tightly interwoven with the company and shines light onto the customers

Everyday Toby wakes up early and either goes to the warehouse to do bookkeeping and answer phones or heads to the Farmers’ mar-ket. While asking Toby what her normal rou-tine/day looked like, a huge shock just filled her face. According to Toby her, “days are busy all

the time, taking phone calls, working on the computer, taking massive book keeping, Farm-ers’ markets are all day outside, driving the truck, opening up setting up selling the mush-rooms going back to the warehouse unloading everything. By the end of the day its 4:30 or 5:00 PM and its six or seven days a week” (Gar-rone). Toby is busy basically everyday of the week and she doesn’t have days off to just relax, she is always on her feet and on the go, even though she is busy she manages the markets fabulously. She is always making sure the basket mushrooms are displayed beautifully and that her employees are happy and smiling. Describ-ing how Toby interacts with customers is prob-ably the hardest thing. She knows exactly what the mushroom tastes like and how to cook each mushroom perfectly. She understands the cus-tomers, needs and always picks out the perfect mushroom for the customer. She is always calm and stress free no matter what is going on in her life. Toby is like the perfect button white

25

Top: King Trumpets. Lower left:

Portabellas. Lower right:

Creminis.

26

Th

e C

ap

mushroom, she is tightly interwoven with the company and shines light onto the customers

Everyday Toby wakes up early and either goes to the warehouse to do bookkeeping and answer phones or heads to the Farmers’ market. While asking Toby what her normal routine/day looked like, a huge shock just filled her face. According to Toby her, “days are busy all the time, taking phone calls, working on the computer, tak-ing massive book keeping, Farmers’ markets are all day outside, driving the truck, opening up setting up selling the mushrooms going back to the ware-house unloading everything. By the end of the day its 4:30 or 5:00 PM and its six or seven days a week” (Garrone). Toby is busy basically everyday of the

27

ConclusionSpector opens his book with a quote from an Italian proverb: “If you

want to leave your footprints on the sands of time, be sure you’re wear-

ing working shoes” (13). In other words, if you want to impact the world

in some way, start working build up a company.

28

Con

lcu

sion

Toby and John Garrone have done a miraculous job in following this Italian proverb. They have come a long way from their first stand in Alemany, California, where they only sold white button mushrooms. Today, they sell ten varieties of mushrooms at multiple Farmers’ markets in the Bay Area and one store at the San Francisco Ferry Building. Their hearts are in the business they love and if you look closely, their working shoes are covered in red oak sawdust and rice bran.

29

Work Cited Center of Disease Control and Prevention. Department of Health and Human Service, 2013. Web. 30 March 2013.http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/clusters/fallon/organophosfaq.htm#entry

DeSanto, Robbie. Personal interview. 1 March 2013.

“Diet & Nutrition; Researchers find mushrooms are a natural source of ergothioneine.” Life Science weekly. 04 October 2005: 597. eLibrary. Web. 12 February 2013http://www.elibrary.com

Far West Fungi, Archival Photographs. n.d. San Fransisco.

Garrone, Kyle. Personal interview. 09 March 2013.

Garrone, Toby. Personal interview. 20 March 2013.

Hoffman, Beth. Forbes. Forbes.com, 2013. Web. 30 March 2013.http://www.forbes.com/sites/bethhoffman/2012/04/23/five-reasons-to-eat-organic-apples-pesticides-healthy-communities-and-you/

Kuo, Michael. MushroomExpert.com. ÓMushroomExpert.com, March 2007. Web. 15 March 2013.http://www.mushroomexpert.com/agaricales.htm

Renton, Alex. Mail Online. Associated Newspapers Ltd. 25 March 2011. Web. 25 March 2013.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1370130/Jus-fresh-fresh-food-supermarket.html

Spector, Robert. The Mom and Pop Store. New York: Walker Publishing Company, Inc, 2009. Print.

30