Due to Hurricane Joaquin’s impending approach this weekend, the 1st Annual East End Mushroom Company’s Mushroom Cookoff has been postponed to Saturday, October 24.
“Due to safety concerns surrounding the impending inclement weather forecast,” the event was moved ahead, a notice posted on the company’s Facebook page said; for information on the event, click here.
East End Mushroom Company owners John Quigley and Jane Maguire, high school sweethearts who reunited years later, opened the business’ retail operation in Cutchogue in March — and planned the event because they want to give back to the community.
The Mushroom Cook-Off will take place on October 24 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Red Barn on the Macari Vineyard property in Mattituck. Over 40 chefs and restaurants from across the East End will compete, using East End Mushroom Company ‘shrooms, and between 400 and 500 attendees are expected.
Proceeds will benefit Maureen’s Haven, an organization that helps the homeless on the East End, as well as Community Action of Southold Town.
Guest judges will include Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, Suffolk County Legislator Al Krupski, Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell, Bill Goggins, running for town justice, and Damon Rallis, who is running for the town supervisor’s seat.
Macari wines will be featured, with Greenport Harbor Brewing Co. selections also offered; the event will also feature live music.
Quigley said before they decided whether or not to open a retail establishment, he and Maguire tested the waters at local farmers’ markets. “If it hadn’t been for the foodies supporting us, we couldn’t have done this. Now it’s time for us to give back to the community.”
Having done a great deal of charity work, Quigley said helping others is deeply ingrained. “I learned a long time ago if you’ve been given something and you don’t give back, you don’t deserve to take it. For me, it’s an emotional thing, not financial. Life gets complicated and people forget when they go through hard times, and then come out of them, if you climb the ladder of success and you forget about the rungs beneath you, when you fall, there’s no one to catch you.”
Raised by a single mom, Quigley said he finds it especially rewarding to help women and children in need. “God’s walked me through a lot of things. People have given me a chance to recover. When you come out the other side, it’s nice to give back. We’re so blessed.”
Quigley said he “lost track” of Maguire 32 years ago, only to find her again on classmates.com. “She responded, and it’s been back to the races ever since.”
Having both survived major life events, Quigley said they both cherish what they’ve found in one another and the life and business they’ve built, every day. And giving back to others is deeply meaningful. “Never hitch a trailer on a hearse — you can’t take it with you,” he said.
Owners of East End Mushroom Company, the pair are growers and purveyors of mushrooms.
Operating since 2012, the mushrooms are grown indoors, right on site at the facility, located at 22355 Cox Lane, near the town transfer station.
An array of mushrooms, including shitake, gold oyster, blue oyster, maitake, white and brown beech, crimini and king oyster are grown not in a greenhouse but in a hydroponic, computerized environment, where humidity and temperature are controlled.
The East End Mushroom Company, formerly known as the Long Island Mushroom Company, has provided mushrooms to a wide number of area restaurants, including the North Fork Table & Inn, Love Lane Kitchen, Vine Street Cafe, Grana, Rowdy Hall, Noah’s, the Frisky Oyster, Almond, Nick & Toni’s and Topping Rose House.
“We want to keep the farming where it all started,” Maguire said, of the pair’s Cutchogue location. “We want to go back to the roots. We love the farm to table movement. Even though we grow indoors, we want to keep farming available” to all types of crops, she said.
Both from a small town, their shared passion is to preserve the North Fork’s agricultural legacy, Maguire said. “We don’t want to see all the open land turned into housing. We want to keep it like it was out here.”
