Big Bloc Mushroom Farm

Name: Big Bloc Mushroom Farm
Address: 1401 Rue Legendre O #305, Montreal, Quebec H4N 2R9, Canada, Montréal, Canada
Telephone: +1 514-887-8474

It all began almost by chance. After years of working in the restaurant industry, Virginie Boivin developed a passion for mushrooms in Nova Scotia. This encounter with the kingdom of Fungi changed the course of her life. She began growing them on a shelf. A few mushrooms, a first customer, and there was no turning back. In 2018, she founded Big Bloc, driven by a desire to grow food aligned with her values. Since then, that little shelf has become a full-fledged urban farm at the Centrale Agricole, a building that incubates some twenty urban agriculture projects. In the grow rooms, the mushrooms develop at their own pace, guided by the hands of Virginie and her team: Lion’s Mane, Pioppino, Chestnut, blue oyster mushrooms… Every week, nearly 300 kg of mushrooms reach maturity, alongside hundreds of substrate blocks also destined for other farms. Behind this production lies another conviction: mushrooms should not be a niche product; they should be accessible to as many people as possible.

City

Montréal

Country

Canada

Address

1401 Rue Legendre O #305, Montreal, Quebec H4N 2R9, Canada

Phone

+1 514-887-8474

Website

Visit

Show on map

Related Products

productParis,FranceCrème des crèmes’ coffee spread

Halloumi in the sun on a wooden board with other cheeses

productMarseille,FranceLe halloumi de La Laiterie Marseillaise

Glass jar of dark red sauce with a white lid on a wooden surface; the label reads “WHITE MUSU,” “BLACK BEA râyuz,” and “No. 03.”

productDublin,IrelandBlack Bean Rāyu by White Mausu

Portraits

Dense cluster of gray and cream oyster mushrooms grown on blocks arranged on metal shelving.

Quiet, It’s Growing

At first glance, La Centrale Agricole gives no indication that life is thriving everywhere inside. A concrete building, large glass doors, plastic curtains, service elevators, and a maze of corridors where footsteps echo. Yet this is where some twenty urban agriculture projects are being incubated, from coffee roasting and fish farming to growing microgreens and raising insects. That morning, we are meeting Virginie Boivin. In a message, the president of La Centrale and head grower at Champignons Big Bloc told us: it’s a hectic time. September is a busy month because the City of Montréal is organizing Ferme en ville, a series of events centered on urban agriculture.