Once upon a time, I was a trauma therapist.

Ten years on, I was burnt out and trying to figure out what came next.

My husband, Steven, had always been fascinated by mycology and had started experimenting with growing mushrooms, but between work and life, he didn’t have the time to keep everything moving.

Enter Marie.

To be completely honest, I took over somewhat reluctantly. I certainly didn’t expect mushrooms to become my thing. Then one day I looked around the fruiting chamber. There were colours everywhere. Shapes I’d never seen before. Mushrooms that looked nothing like the ones in the supermarkets.

And something clicked.

The more I failed (and yes, there were plenty of failures), the more determined I became and the more varieties I discovered I grew even more curious . (These days I compare mushrooms to Pringles - once you pop…)

Before long we were taking our beloved mushrooms to the Mt Gravatt markets (we still frequent every Sunday), where I met some of the loveliest people imaginable. Customers would return week after week to try new varieties, share recipes, and tell us about their latest culinary discoveries. A big part of why I do what I do is because of them. I want to bring the world of mushrooms to my lovely customers.

By then, I was hooked.

Today I’m growing 14 varieties of gourmet and exotic mushrooms and my fascination with fungi shows no signs of slowing down.

What began as a reluctant handover has become a genuine obsession - and I wouldn’t have it any other way.