The air is hot and sticky beneath the June canopy of the Wilmington Farmers Market. Just past the heirloom tomatoes and fresh blueberries, a table overflows with textures that look more like coral reefs than fungi: dusky blue oyster mushrooms, thick lion’s mane tufts and chestnut mushrooms clus- tered like caramel-colored buttons. A toddler reaches for a golden, frilly-edged mushroom while her mom laughs nervously. “I experimented with this one last week,” she says, “but I think I still have a lot to learn.”
It’s a common reaction, says Joe Choi, standing behind the display with a quiet grin while his mom, Maria, chats with customers at the other end of the table. “We’re trying to reverse the mentality of Americans being mycophobic,” he says. “Mushrooms may be unfamiliar, even intimidating, but they might just be the most approachable thing on your plate—if you give them a chance.” All across Wilmington, a quiet mushroom community has begun to colonize. From micro farms to local snack brands, growers and makers are reimagining the role of fungi in our kitchens and for our health. They aren’t just cultivating mushrooms—they’re reshaping perceptions. Because what if mushrooms weren’t something to avoid but something to savor?
One of the farmers at the heart of this movement is Choi himself, the force behind Wholesome Greens in the Murrayville/ Castle Hayne area. He launched Wholesome Greens in 2015, growing microgreens, herbs and edible flowers. Mushrooms are a new addition.
Joe Choi, Wholesome Greens
As of 2025, Choi cultivates eight mushroom varieties, from a spectrum of oysters to lion’s mane, chestnuts and his favorite, maitake, also known as hen of the woods. His path to fungi deep- ened during the early days of the pandemic. With time to spare, he turned to mushroom foraging, trekking from South Carolina into the North Carolina Piedmont in search of wild varieties. But that year proved unusually dry, and his baskets came home empty. The experience, rather than discouraging him, became a catalyst: Why not grow them himself?
He started with lion’s mane and blue oyster, using grow tents to maintain a controlled environment where mushrooms could flourish year round. Choi speaks about mushrooms with reverence, often pointing out their long-standing role in Chinese medicine. For him, cultivation is both science and spiritual practice, an everyday miracle unfolding quietly in tents behind the farm stand.
Corey Burdick, Lite Work Farm
Another key figure in the local fungi scene is Cory Burdick of Lite Work Farm. What began as a few grow tents in his two-room garage has become a full-scale ur- ban farm. Like Choi, Burdick is self-taught, pulled into the world of mushrooms by a fascination with their fruit- ing bodies and the climate in which they thrive.
Today, he cultivates a vibrant array: gold, blue, pink and white oyster mushrooms, lion’s mane, maitake and even cordyceps, one of the most finicky mushrooms to grow. Sensitive to heat and humidity, cordyceps are rarely grown in Wilmington, but Burdick man- aged a successful crop during the cooler months last winter.
His work extends beyond the physical crop. Burdick is passionate about overcoming what he calls “generational mycophobia,” a cultural aversion to mushrooms, particularly when it comes to mushroom-based supplements. Most varieties and products lack FDA regulation; he recognizes the skepticism many consumers scarry and sees education as part of the work.
In addition to fresh mushrooms, Burdick makes jerky and a line of mushroom tinctures. Offerings include: reishi, valued for its calming and immune-supportive properties; lion’s mane for cognitive health; and his favorite, the finicky cordyceps, prized for its adaptogenic energy boost. For Burdick, mushrooms are more than ingredients, they’re medicinal, ritual and a reminder that health can grow quietly, right in your garage.
Jake Grocki, Jerk's Jakey
If Wilmington’s farmers are focused on growing mushrooms, Jake Grocki, who will be starting Jerk’s Jakey, is all about transforming them. He is working on recipes for small-batch mushroom jerky that’s sweet-heat forward, spiced with habanero and pineapple and surprisingly satisfying even for devoted carnivores.
Grocki’s mushroom fascination led him to volunteer with a grower in Charlotte. He took things a step further by traveling to Guatemala to study mushroom cultivation at the Fungi Academy. There, he immersed himself in the science and tradition of fungi and learned advanced techniques for growing and preparing gourmet and medicinal varieties.
Back home he was faced with a surplus of oyster mushrooms that were still good but not visually marketable; he began to experiment. In his kitchen, he studied chitin—the fibrous compound in mushroom cell walls—and figured out how to soften it through heat and fat-sol- uble extraction. His first batch of jerky had flavor, but the texture was off. The second—spicy
ginger teriyaki—hit the mark. The mushrooms were ten- der, the seasoning bold, and Grocki knew he was onto something.
He’s still perfecting handcrafted batches, layering trays with marinated mushrooms and carefully monitoring the dehydration process.
Why mushrooms? They’re nutrient dense, fast growing and soak up flavor like sponges. Unlike traditional jerky, there’s no meat, no mystery ingredients—just fungus, thoughtfully prepared.
Skeptics often come around fast. “People will try a bag as a novelty,” he says. “Then a few days later, they’re messaging me for more.” The spicy teriyaki disappears the fastest. The pineapple habanero lime, with its slow burn, wins over spice lovers.
Grocki’s idea is to make mushrooms something craveable.
If there’s one thing that unites Wilmington’s mushroom makers, it’s a shared mission: to help people see mushrooms not as something to fear, but something to explore. Despite their versatility, mushrooms have long been misunderstood—written off as too earthy or just too strange. Their textures and appearance can intimidate, but local growers are working to change that.
It’s working. At Wilmington’s restaurants, local produc- ers are delivering freshly harvested mushrooms to be on someone’s plate that same night. There are mushroom pro- ducers at every farmers market that have regular customers.
You can find Joe Choi’s Wholesome Greens mushrooms at the Wilmington Farmers Market and Tidal Creek Co-op, or on the menu at local favorites like the Green House, PinPoint, Seabird, South Beach Grill, Covey, Pilot House, Three10, Savorez and Brasserie. Cory Burdick’s Lite Work Farm mushrooms make appearances at Manna, King Neptune’s and Great American Outdoor Living, plus you can also find Burdick at the Wilmington Farmers Market.
Back under the market canopy, the table still looks like something pulled from the sea: golden frills, dusky blues, soft coral fans.
I grab a pint container of blue oysters for myself, because maybe the best way to understand mushrooms isn’t to study them. Maybe it’s just to taste one.
