Exotic forest and cultivated mushrooms are especially used in fine dining to enrich the menu. Marker oHG, a long-standing partner of North German gastronomy and community catering, has now recognized the potential of these mushroom exotics. At the beginning of the year, the Hamburg-based company was able to sign a new partnership with the mushroom-specialized wholesaler Paris Direkt, based in Münster. Among others, the product innovations already garnered enthusiasm at the trade fairs Gastro Vision and Internorga, Managing Director Patrick Marker confirms.
"We are dealing with special mushroom varieties such as Maitake, Pom Pom Blanc, Krause Glucke, Cordycepes, Frisee mushroom, and the Violet Knight, which are very popular with restaurateurs but difficult to obtain in constant volumes. We have now found a reliable supplier who can provide exotics from global mushroom cultivation instead of collection in the wild throughout the year. Accordingly, we can now work independently of season and weather, guaranteeing our gastronomy customers not just year-round availability, but consistent quality as well. The fact that the mainly Asian cultivated mushrooms grow on substrate rather than in the open air means they are also cleaner and easier to process in the kitchen, which represents an additional advantage for the respective chef. Strictly speaking, it's not so much about expanding our range, but about increasing the reliability of sourcing," Marker describes the advantages in the procurement of mushrooms.
The mushroom assortment was the focus of tastings at this year's gastro fairs.
In the first few months since the partnership, an increased demand for mushroom exotics has been recorded, Marker continues. "Due to the aforementioned cleanliness and easier preparation, the likelihood of including the particular mushroom variety on the menu is correspondingly higher. However, it must be said that exotic mushrooms are currently booming on social media as well as in cooking shows. This naturally contributes to increasing the awareness of this item. So far, demand has been quite strong in the summer months. We are already noticing that we have sold more in the first quarter of 2024 than in the summer months of previous years. We also expect that demand will tend to spread more evenly throughout the year."
A total of about 20 mushroom exotics are offered.
In addition to the mushroom exotics, Marker oHG continues to dedicate itself to the procurement and marketing of 'standard' forest and cultivated mushrooms, such as morels, king oyster mushrooms, chanterelles, or porcini mushrooms. Marker expects the start of the main season for forest mushrooms in May, with fresh goods from the Balkan region. First, chanterelles and porcini mushrooms are already available from Portugal and South Africa in small quantities. "We strongly believe that this step will also positively influence the entire mushroom assortment, especially the demand. In this way, the individual mushroom types reinforce each other."
Images: Marker oHG
For more information:
Patrick Marker
Marker oHG
Amandus-Stubbe-Straße 14 a
22113 Hamburg
Tel: 040 / 80 80 321 0
Fax: 040 / 80 80 321 49
E-Mail: info@unternehmen-frische.de
www.unternehmen-frische.de