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Thursday, March 26, 2020

The Living Mushroom Cave in Le Puy Notre Dame on the Loire, France

Just have to share this unique story with you and the world...
Open for Tourism and as restaurant and shop!
We met the person Jacky Roulleau who is running this!
See link at the very bottom under final photo...
In French: variété blonde du champignon de Paris
This is the brown variety of the champignon de Paris, what we call button mushroom or Agaricus
Okay, on Sunday, January 8 of 1989, husband Pieter left via Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (we lived in Shillington, Pennsylvania at the time) to Kalamazoo, in Michigan for meeting with 6 French men. One of them was Jacky Roulleau.
They went to the Glenn Farm, one of Campbell's mushroom farms on January 9 and to the Brighton Farm on January 10. 
On January 11, Pieter flew back to Philadelphia with lots of delay, his 1st time with Piedmont airlines... 
In the evening Pieter did take me along to the Sheraton hotel in Reading to meet with the French men. We all went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner together.
We received a tile from Le Puy Notre Dame with it's Church
Also a bottle of Fiji eau de toilette and a Taste Vin...
This French Pewter Taste Vin from ETAINS DU MANOIR was a gift from our French mushroom colleagues.
Inside you read the French Wine Quote: Beuvez toujours ne mourrez jamais. 
Drink always and never die. Widely attributed to François Rabelais.
Below post is a link to my previous post for learning more about this piece...
A special card from Le Puy Notre Dame
Le Puy Notre Dame seen by... Richard Kleeman
Edition The Corner of the Eye
On January 26, 1989 Jacky Roulleau wrote a very nice letter:
Dear Friend,
I don't know how to thank you for everything you did for us. Having been all my life around mushrooms, I've always wanted to shake hands with a man we only knew from his book, the famous Vedder.
I won't say more except that I'm sure our fathers would have loved to be with us.
My colleagues and myself have understood that simplicity and efficiency are the keys to success in the mushroom world.
Please give our best regards to your charming wife, and I hope we'll see you soon in France.
Sincerely,
Jacky Roulleau

Another treasured 'mushroom' editorial review.
CULTURE MODERNE DES CHAMPIGNONS is the book Jacky was referring to.
Pieter's French edition, out of 8 official languages being published.
~
We met again on May 20, 1989 during the Tecno Mico in Verona, Italy where Pieter worked out a construction design for them and Gerard Derks built it in France, in late summer.
At that time we already lived and worked in Italy and on May 27, Gerard and his wife Pauline Derks came to dinner at our apartment and they delivered 4 bottles of French Chinon wine from the French men! Surprise...
~
Small world and now Jacky and his son Julian, are running their business of mushroom growing inside the cave and opening it for tourism from end of March through early October.
Year round they sell their product and also other varieties of mushrooms they grow inside the cave.
Regional restaurants buy their produce and prepare delicious food, a wonderful way for visiting and learning!

Look at those broad stems as a good mushroom quality criteria...

Hope you enjoyed this post!


{French Pewter Taste Vin} | previous post
modern mushroom growing 2020 harvesting | post about our newest publication

34 comments:

  1. Liebe Mariette,
    herzlichen Dank für deinen schönen Post.
    Sonnige Grüße
    Elisabeth

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    Replies
    1. Liebe Elisabeth,
      Gerne wie immer und froh das es dir gefällt!
      Liebe Grüße,
      Mariette

      Delete
  2. I never knew, until your posts, that mushrooms were a tourist attraction. I do love mushrooms...to eat and I find fungi fascinating, actually. Not sure why! LOL.

    Take care, I hope you're doing well, healing from the surgery. Stay healthy!

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    1. Dearest Kim,
      Well, since you love nature so much it is only naturally that you love mushrooms as they are the final chain for digesting things that can't be eaten by animals nor humans. We both love the Porcini and the Shiitake the most but also a good tight quality of button mushrooms with broad stems.
      This is being turned into a museum for showing people how things come about and it is a clever concept as most have no clue of how much work actually goes into this. We mimic Mother Nature and manage to copy all four seasons into a short period for commercial growing.
      You take care too and yes, those stitches pull and hurt especially while laying in bed but that will be over soon!
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  3. Esos cahmpiñones tienen buen aspecto. Es ideal para cocinarlos. Me ha parecido interesante esa postal, que antiguamente se enviaba por correo. ahora esto se ha perdido por el auge del correo electrónico.

    Espero que se encuntre bien, junto a su familia.

    Besos

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    1. Querida Ventana de Foto,
      Sí, esos hongos cultivados en cuevas son la mejor calidad para la preparación. Tales tarjetas una vez fueron muy favorables, pero el correo de caracol toma demasiado tiempo en comparación con el correo electrónico de la era moderna.
      Hasta ahora nuestra familia en los Países Bajos está bien, no han oído ningún problema. Nosotros dos también estamos bien. Esperemos que esto se calme pronto; en todo el mundo!
      Abrazos,
      Mariette

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  4. Hello Mariette, I would certainly go out of my way to see a mushroom cave, especially one as atmospheric as those in France. If that French saying is true, then I am in trouble, as I don't drink alcohol. However, 'beuvez' does not specify wine, so I'll take my chances with drinking water, tea and coffee.
    --Jim

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    1. Dearest Jim,
      Such a mushroom cave is only educational and quite interesting for anyone to visit and see.
      The French quote is aimed at wine and thus not valid for you and me... The Taste Vin (link below this post from my previous one) is purely for wine tasting.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

      Delete
  5. Come sempre un bel post.
    Buona giornata.

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    1. Caro Giancarlo,
      Grazie e benvenuto qui!
      Un abbraccio,
      Mariette

      Delete
  6. Wow, how wonderful mushrooms! Very interesting. Are mushrooms still growing in this place?

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    1. Dearest Anne,
      Yes, if you clicked on the link you can see it, they open end of March!
      Hugs,
      Mariette

      Delete
  7. Replies
    1. Dearest Nataša,
      Yes, there still are several but this one is in production and functions as a museum for people to see and understand.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  8. I love mushrooms and Campbells mushroom soup. I wonder what type is used the soup as they are flavorful. A mushroom cave is something I would like to see.
    Thank you for your comment on my blog. If you look at it again you will see I changed the last paragraph some as it may have sounded a little harsh. I will wait and see if I hear from them I get a little perturbed sometimes with the young ones. Young people, well some seem to take a lot for granted now.
    Betsy

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    Replies
    1. Dearest Betsy,
      With mushrooms of this quality criteria as shown in the last photo, you certainly can prepare great meals.
      Campbells mushroom soup is good but it contains a lot of sodium... WISH they would lower that a lot!
      Such a productive mushroom cave would certainly be a worthwhile visit for anyone.
      You're quite welcome and I always love visiting your blog, you are such an active and talented lady in may ways!
      Let's hope that the 5th generation will inherit some of your talent and generosity; that is a great virtue.
      Maybe times like we live through now, makes even the youngest generations, that have lived a spoiled and sheltered life so far, change for the better...
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  9. I don't like mushrooms, I don't even like to look at them

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    1. Dearest Jo-Anne,
      Well, they don't bite you, those bloody mushies as you Aussies call them!
      Hugs,
      Mariette

      Delete
  10. It would be so interesting to go on that mushroom cave tour! And buy fresh mushrooms and eat them...mmm :-) Letter from Jacky Roulleau is really nice. He must have been very excited to meet your husband Pieter and enjoyed your company :-)
    Happy Friday, Mariette. Have a great weekend!

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    1. Dearest Tamago,
      Thank you for your always excellent commenting, after having read the contents in depth!
      Happy Friday to you as well and sending hugs for all four,
      Mariette

      Delete
  11. You have nice memories with your husband and your husband with wonderful achievements in learning about mushrooms. I hope that the virus that has entered our lives will not beat us. Best wishes and all the best.

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    1. Dearest Giga,
      Thank you for your kind words here and yes, those memories with other mushroom oriented people are wonderful.
      May God keep us all safe.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  12. What a wonderful memories!
    These mushrooms look fresh and yummy.
    Wondering about the cave, sounds a great place to visit and enjoy eating fresh mushrooms.

    Stay healthy!
    Hugs

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    1. Dearest Evi,
      Those cave grown mushrooms are of the best quality!
      Wouldn't it be great to tour the cave and then have a nice mushroom meal in the restaurant?!
      Hugs and stay well,
      Mariette

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  13. I see you are still reporting on yours and Pieter's adventures. You have had a very interesting life, and it is wonderful you are documenting all of this. I love mushrooms best sauteed in butter, maybe with sauteed onions. Yummy!
    Thank you for stopping by my blog. I took a rather long break. It is good to be back.
    Stay well and be safe!

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    1. Dearest Deborah,
      Yes, still kind of writing my pioneer husband's memoirs. Pieter for sure had interesting colleagues world wide and I enjoyed them too. For my favorite porcini and button mushroom risotto I do the very same, using very little butter to sautee the sliced firm button mushrooms.
      You too stay well and hugs,
      Mariette

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  14. Hej Mariette, ik heb de link opgeslagen voor als wij er eens in de buurt zijn. Het lijkt mij heel interessant om te bezoeken. Fijne zondag, lieve groet

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    1. Beste Willy,
      Ja, jullie kunnen het in zo'n 9 uurtjes wel bereiken. Zal zeker interessant zijn en vergeet niet te vertellen tegen Jacky of zoon Julian Roulleau dat je ons virtueel kent!
      Liefs,
      Mariette

      Delete
  15. Oh Mariette dear, how interesting ! Your posts of you and Pieters travel-adventures have taught me a lot about so many topics and places. This one about the mushrooms is quite my taste, specially to yes, make delicious Risotto and other great dishes.
    We have this kind here in Ecuador and cook with them very often.
    Thank you for always sharing it with us.
    Hope you are staying indoors and taking care of yourselves. This Pandemic is very dangerous and now the USA is the country most affected.
    Thank God for the president you have !
    God bless you both darling.
    Fabby

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    1. Dearest Fabby,
      Glad you enjoy these memoir stories and sharing the many international mushroom related friends.
      We have very fond memories and they ought to be preserved.
      Yes, we stay indoors as much as possible but yesterday we did bike since a long hiatus... it felt so good in the rural area!
      Sunny and warm with 29C.
      Sending you hugs and may God protect the World.
      Mariette

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  16. Sehr interessant, liebe Mariette, ich wußte das alles über Champigons nicht, bis ich es bei Dir gelesen habe. Hatte da auch, ganz ehrlich, wenig Vertrauen, dass nicht doch mal ein Knollenblätterpilz darunter ist. ;-) Zucht hin oder her ...

    Aber ich sehe Notre Dame, das läßt mich gleich wieder an das Menetekel vom letzten Jahr denken ... denn es war eines, da bin ich mir sicher ...
    Die Katastrophe von Notre Dame - https://sezession.de/61112/die-katastrophe-von-notre-dame<

    Es gab schon einmal so eine Vorsehung, als am 24.August 1939 ein Nordlicht den Himmel in Deutschland und Österreich blutrot färbte. Meine Eltern und Großeltern erzählten auch davon. So etwas war so selten, dass sogar die Feuerwehr ausrückte, das war ein Menetekel, 7 Tage vor Beginn des 2. Weltkriegs, und wenige Jahre später brannten die Städte tatsächlich.

    Viele Menschen sahen in diesem Nordlicht später eine letzte Warnung Gottes vor dem gewaltigen Unheil, dass die Menschheit zu entfesseln im Begriff war. Jetzt ist die Menschheit wieder im Begriff, große weitreichende Fehler zu begehen ...

    Alles Liebe auch hier
    Sara

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    1. Liebe Sara,
      Ja, so hat es mit die Champignonkultur angefangen!
      Aber dein Knollenblätterpilz oder Amanita phalloides, der meist tödliche, kommt unbedingt nicht vor in die gezüchtete Produktion. Der Kompost ist pasteurisiert worden, also alles ist abgetötet.
      Die Notre Dame ist auch eine ganz andere, im Südwesten Frankreichs, das konnte man auch gleich erkennen von die Karte hier oben.
      Ganz liebe Grüße,
      Mariette

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  17. What a trip this would be to visit the Mushroom Cave in Le Puy, France! Really enjoying these posts, Mariette. Stay well!

    Vielen dank,
    Barb :)

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    1. Dearest Barb,
      Thank you and yes, all of us would enjoy visiting this one!
      Having a delicious mushroom meal afterwards.
      Hugs and you too stay well!
      Mariette

      Delete

Thanks for your visit and comment.

Mariette...