Growing Mushrooms Underground

Julien Delalande is the fourth generation of his family to be growing mushrooms in La Cave des Roches at Bourré, in Loir et Cher, where there are about 600 kilometres of underground galleries under the village.

Chestnut mushrooms growing in La Cave des Roches.

Julien and his brother grew up in Bourré and their family have been mushroom farmers since 1893. Before that their ancestors were quarrymen, stone cutters and river boatmen.

Yellow oyster mushrooms growing in La Cave des Roches.

La Cave des Roches is what is left of the old Saint Roch co-operative of mushroom growers, one of the last growing button mushrooms underground on a large scale up to the beginning of the 20th century.

Shiitake mushrooms growing in La Cave des Roches.

According to Julien the family's underground galleries extend for several hundred kilometres, on seven levels (although some are now dangerous and no longer accessible). This maze of underground passages was where the fine white limestone that was used to build the most beautiful chateaux such as Chenonceau and Chambord was extracted.

Underground mushroom cultivation in La Cave des Roches.

But today the site is no longer used to extract stone, and has become a major production site for mushrooms. Julien Delalande produces several varieties all year long, for example shiitakes, grey and yellow oyster mushrooms, button mushrooms and wood blewits. In fact, 40% of the world's wood blewit (Fr. pieds bleus) production (approximately 400 kg per week) comes from these troglodyte caves.

Cooking wood blewit mushrooms.

Thanks to the ventilation, the hygrometry, the constant temperature of 12C° these troglodyte caves allow cultivation for a longer season, and the mushrooms are of a higher quality, with a firmer texture and finer taste.

Cave grown wood blewit mushrooms.

Julien advises that the best way to cook them is to pan fry them in neutral oil (not walnut or olive) for 7 to 12 minutes depending on the variety. You have to cook the varieties separately then in the middle of cooking add a little garlic, fresh chopped parsley then finish with a knob of butter.

Cultivated wood blewits in La Cave des Roches.

He loves growing mushrooms, but also discovering new grafitti by the quarrymen on the walls of the tunnels.

Carving in the underground village.

Julien's father, Maurice Delalande, had the idea of an underground village, which he and two friends, Slobodan Bugaric and Christian L'Hermitte started making in 1998. It is a fairytale space carved into the solid rock that can be visited from April to November and during the winter holidays. The guided tours are a good hour during which you will learn about the work of the mushroom grower and that of the quarryman.

Carved representation of a blacksmith's workshop in the underground village.

La Cave des Roches [link].