OUR STORY
Rafe was working in the film industry when the pandemic hit and overnight our worlds were turned upside down. He decided to leave London and return to his hometown of Stroud in the Cotswolds to see what would come next.
One day he began experimenting with growing gourmet mushrooms in his garage — it was to be the start of a lockdown love-affair that has since turned into a fully-fledged business.
Not long after things started heating up, Rafe’s life-long friend Oscar joined him as a business partner. Oscar has a bachelor’s degree in Geography where he looked in-depth at sustainability and ecology, so Slad Valley felt lucky to have him as part of a small business whose essence is about bringing a local, low-impact and sustainable way of eating to the community.
In a matter of months, the company was able to move out of Rafe’s garage space into a huge warehouse, large enough for two full-time grow rooms. At first only selling Grey Oyster Mushrooms, Slad Valley’s repertoire now includes Yellow Oysters, Lion’s Mane, Speckled Chestnuts and their array of other store cupboard products made using dried mushrooms. Their next venture is to expand into the world of medicinal mushrooms.
Built on a foundation of old-fashioned hard work and passion, Slad Valley Mushrooms has gone from strength to strength, becoming a firm favourite at the famed Stroud Farmers Market where you can find them every Saturday. We’ll see you there. ;)
