Our Company

Company Timeline

1976 The idea for Gourmet Mushrooms, Inc. came in 1976, when Malcolm Clark, who was lab director at Boreal Biological Laboratories in Toronto, and David Law, a graduate business student at the University of Wisconsin, meet through a mutual friend.
1977 Selected Sonoma County to start the business due to its mild temperatures and proximity to the San Francisco market. Bought and converted an abandoned chicken farm in Sonoma County to start the business.
1981 First successful cultivation of wild mushroom, named Pompon Blanc™ (Pom Pom).
1989 Establish mushroom spawn supply business to specialty mushroom growers.
1993 Malcolm makes Bali trip and discovers mushroom strain to be named, "Baby Blue Oyster™".
1996 Malcolm co-organized an expedition to Nepal to collect live Cordyceps sinensis specimen (caterpillar mushroom) to maintain and broaden the genetic pool of GMI’s fungal culture collection.
1999 Malcolm makes Peru trip and brings back a collection of exotic fungi.
2000 Import automatic mushroom cultivation equipment from Japan. Act as exclusive importer of this equipment..
2001 Begin construction of 43,000 sq. ft. facility in Sebastopol
2003 Construction completed on 43,000 square foot facility. First harvest picked and shipped from the new farm.
2005 Gourmet Mushrooms, Inc. approved for organic status by the USDA by QAI.
2006 Velvet Pioppini tm successfully cultivated and launched, adding another variety to the mix of organic forest mushrooms.
2007Glenn Walker, research scientist and Mycologist joins GMI to further research and development of new varieties and quality control programs.
2008 Gourmet Mushrooms, Inc. introduces the Nebrodini Bianco tm to the industry. The Nebrodini Bianco tm will be widely available beginning October 2008.