When former fashion-business owner and entrepreneur Michael Fox; organic-fungi farmer, regenerative ag advocate and erstwhile logistics expert Chris McLoghlin; and fine-dining chef and proud Texan Jim Fuller joined forces to form Fable Food Co, developing mushroom-based alt-meats, they weren’t expecting so much attention, so soon.
Fuller, a fan of celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal’s scientific approach to cooking and a long-time specialist in mycology, was thrilled when Blumenthal participated in product trials for his shredded-shiitake-based plant-protein ‘barbecue’.
The much-awarded chef praised Fuller’s nutrition-packed alt-meat for its taste and texture, agreeing to feature the product on the menus of high-end restaurants in his Fat Duck Group.
More recently, Fable Food Co entered into a mutually profitable partnership with the Sunshine Coast’s Glass House Brewery, launching a brace of meat-alternative pizzas: a vegetarian take on the venue’s signature ‘Truffle Shuffle’ pizza; and a vegan option showcasing a confit of Fable’s mushroom mix.
On the success of the pizza partnership, they’re launching a Fable Cordyceps Glass House Vienna Lager based on the caterpillar fungus (Ophiocordyceps sinensis), known in Traditional Chinese Medicine for its beneficial medicinal compounds.
In mid-June 2020, Fable also launched its alt-meat range nationally into Woolworths retail stores.
Further reading
Read more stories from FIAL’s Celebrating Australian Food and Agribusiness Innovations 2020
Source: Fable Food Co and Glass House Brewery I Food Innovation Australia Limited