Customs House’s delicious cellar secret

The University of Queensland’s historic Customs House in central Brisbane is renowned for its elegant architecture, fine dining and magnificent views to the Story Bridge – and now a delicious secret is lurking in the cellar.

Customs House director Brian Roberts said the thick sandstone walls provided an ideally stable, dark and humid environment for growing mushrooms.

“Our menu focuses on fresh local produce,” Mr Roberts said. “You can’t get much more local than growing the food on-site.

“Another place in the city has a beehive on their roof – which got us thinking about what we could do. Then we came up with the idea of growing mushrooms in the cellar.

“It’s very much in line with our philosophy of valuing the environment and trying to limit our footprint by using sustainable, organic and biodynamic ingredients where possible.”

Customs House's Delicious Cellar Secret from The University of Queensland on Vimeo.

Operations manager George Musat has taken on the mushroom-tending and harvesting duties. He said he was growing two varieties: shiitake and oyster mushrooms.

“It’s a fairly simple process,” Mr Musat said.

“I sought advice from a local farmer on the set-up and optimum growing conditions. He supplies the small wooden logs the mushrooms grow from.

“I put the logs in the fridge overnight to trigger the process, and then the mushrooms take about a week to grow. After three crops, the logs break down easily and provide great compost for the Customs House gardens.

“Some very hot days this summer have been a challenge, but on those days I have given the mushrooms some iced water to keep them cool.”

Chef de cuisine John Offenhauser said the mushrooms were handpicked daily.

“We are focusing on shiitake and oyster mushrooms due to their flavour and texture,” he said.

“They feature on our lunch and dinner menus as they match perfectly with our handmade nicola potato and ricotta gnocchi.

“I do an early harvest on Sundays for our mushroom and Gruyere cheese breakfast omelettes.”

Media: Customs House Director Brian Roberts, brian@customshouse.com.au, 0412 727 958.