We all need to start getting excited about mushrooms. Here’s why…
- This is all about creating circular ecosystems in farming and forestry food production
- Imagine a forest as a kitchen; it creates food (fruits and veg), but it also creates waste (old leaves, dead bracken etc)
- Now, in this kitchen, imagine fungi and mushrooms as the waste disposal unit
- Mushrooms not only break down all of the dead waste, but they also reuse the nutrients and plant them back into the soil
- These fungi create networks under the ground that spread these nutrients over a wider area, benefiting the whole forest
- This is great for the soil and all the things growing in it; fruit grows better, with more nutrients
- Most importantly though, mushrooms also ensure that CO2 from this waste is also planted back into the soil; in effect they are nature's air purifier
That’s why Lime Venue Portfolio is going mushroom mad, and have created #meetingshrooms
So, how are we taking advantage of mushrooms at many of our venues?
- Meeting delegates love coffee: but coffee is a pretty horrible thing to throw away, giving out high quantities of methane if not disposed of properly.
We’re using old coffee grinds to grow mushrooms. The coffee feeds the fungi, the fungi cleans the coffee, and we create a circular coffee–mushroom loop (taste not effected!) - Mushrooms are incredibly diverse, there are over 15,000 different sorts that grow in the UK. How many do we really eat? We’re looking at menus that explore the full, colourful and nutritious varieties of fine fungi.
This means we’re not importing mushrooms, keeping our food miles down and reducing our CO2 output; both in terms of transport and packaging. - One of the major innovations is the use of mushrooms in crowd pleasing favourites. Everyone loves a burger, now we can create healthy and sustainable veggie and vegan options using our #meetingshrooms.
But we’re also looking to reduce our red meat output and replace it with fungi. Our catering partner, Levy UK+I, has developed a half meat, half shroom burger; it tastes great and reduces our food miles and CO2 output (read more in section 5.5).
Now when we say reduce, we mean reduce. If all of our venues adopt our 50/50 burger, this one dish alone will mean that Levy will achieve their net zero carbon objective on their own… ahead of schedule!
So, lets recap:
- By drinking our coffee you’re feeding our #meetingshrooms
- Our mushrooms then feed you with tasty, new and interesting menus
- By eating our #meetingshrooms you’re contributing to a reduction in food miles on plants and meats, reducing our CO2 output
- You’re also part of our food sourcing experiment that supports hyper localised, seasonal produce
- You, and your delegates, can bask in the warm glow of making a significant effect on the planet
So have a coffee, eat #meetingshrooms and contribute to a greener world
By simple choosing a Lime Venue Portfolio space, you’re already making a difference to the planet, because we make the sustainable easy, so you can get on with delivering amazing events.
