From coffee grounds to plate, Montreal company sprouts mushrooms from restaurant waste

From the outsidetheMoreauStreet warehouse, located in the heart of the Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuveborough, looks pretty commonplace.

A passerby wouldn't immediately expect to open the door and find an urban farm complete with six greenhouses where oyster mushrooms are growing in stacks of white columns.

But that's exactlywhat you'll see when you enter the BlancdeGriswarehouse,wheretheyuseold coffee grounds and other restaurant wasteto produceurban-grown mushrooms.

FriendsDominique Lynch-Gauthier andLysianeRoy-Maheu founded the company over a year ago and haven't looked back.

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Lynch-Gauthier hadn't always planned on cultivating mushrooms for a living, but saidshehasno regrets.

"Never in life I would have imagined that...But I'm happy," she said.

The mushrooms grow in1,200 containers, and Lynch-Gauthier saidthey harvestabout 200 kilograms a week.

"I find it beautiful," she said of a freshly picked mushroom.

The conditions in the greenhouse must be just right to harvest the best quality mushroom, so temperature andhumidity are carefully controlled.

Embracing the 'circular economy'

Roy-Maheu, who is more focused on the sales and marketing side of the company, saidshe was attracted by the environmental aspect of the project.

"It's reallythe concept of thecircular economy, so taking leftovers that are destined for the garbage and using itto make food," she explained.

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Roy-Maheu saidthatBlancdeGrisbuyold coffee grounds from several restaurants and also collects brewery grains, a by-product from the brewing of beer, from a bar in the area.

When she delivers an order of mushrooms to the restaurant Au Petit Extra in the Ville-Marie borough, she doesn't leave empty-handed.

"They keep the coffee grounds and when I come to deliver the mushrooms, I leave with the coffee grounds. It is a nice exchange."

As for the kilogram of mushrooms delivered, that'll end up on customers' plates.

"We tasted the mushrooms, andfound them to be exceptional," said chef JulienLaporte.

"It's far removed from the oyster mushroomyou can buy in a grocery store. It's a mushroom that's more crunchy, with a nutty taste."

The companycurrently supplies mushrooms to about thirty restaurateurs in the city, and the co-foundershope to increase their clientele going forward.