Chef Mark Tafoya Visits Maui’s Makawao Mushroom Farm
On his first day in Maui, Chef Mark Tafoya had just enough time to drop off his bags at the hotel and head straight to UpCountry Makawao to visit the Makawao Mushroom Farm.
About Makawao Mushroom Farm
photo: Chef Mark Tafoya / Culinary Media Network
The mushroom farm is nestled in UpCountry Makawao with views from Kahului Harbour to Maalaea. The barns of the old Haleakala Dairy are now home to the only commercial mushroom farm on Maui. The Chenelle family has been raising varieties of the Oyster (Pleurotus Ostreatus) specialty mushroom since 2002. No, these are not the hallucinogenic kind – these are considered both a gourmet and a medicinal mushroom. And no, we don’t feed them bull…. and keep them in the dark! Indeed, our farm will be a surprise to most. We use a unique technique to grow clusters of mushrooms that look more like flowers…
Our mushrooms are supplied to many restaurants on Maui whose chefs appreciate and demand the freshest ingredients to serve in their dining rooms. Our mushrooms are also carried by various markets who support Maui farmers by providing the local population with a choice of fresh local grown produce. In fact, they have even been transported to Oahu and Kauai by local mushroom lovers to bring as gifts from Maui, omiyage style, to friends and relatives!
