Padoo
Other Producer
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Core concept and our values
Padoo is an organic mushroom farm rooted in Drongen, on the western edge of Ghent, with a clear and purposeful mission: to grow extraordinary mushrooms and champion them as one of the most ecologically sound and nutritionally rich foods available today. Founded on the belief that sustainable, healthy eating deserves a place at the centre of modern food culture, Padoo sees itself not merely as a producer but as an ambassador for the remarkable world of fungi. Every variety is grown entirely organically and locally, certified by Certisys (BE-BIO-01), reflecting a commitment to transparency and integrity that runs through everything the farm does. The proximity of production to the consumer is not incidental — it is fundamental to the Padoo philosophy, ensuring that freshness, flavour, and nutritional value are preserved from harvest to kitchen. Growing mushrooms close to home also means keeping the ecological footprint genuinely small, in a way that few other protein or vegetable sources can match.
Special offering and specialities
The range Padoo cultivates is strikingly diverse, spanning varieties that are rarely found this fresh or this locally grown in Belgium. Freshly harvested offerings include shiitake (Lentinula edodes), lion's mane (Hericium erinaceus), nameko (Pholiota nameko), grey, golden, pink, and king oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus, citrinopileatus, djamor, and eryngii), maitake (Grifola frondosa), shimeji, and the striking black pearl. For those who want the pantry staple rather than the fresh harvest, each variety is also available artisanally dried in the farm's own facilities — carefully selected, dried slowly, and packed in resealable 25g bags that retain their vitamins, minerals, and depth of flavour. The Farm to Table Box range brings the harvest together in curated selections: the MINI box (150g) offers a single hand-harvested variety straight from the growing room, while the MIX box (340g) assembles at least four different species for those who want to explore the full breadth of what Padoo grows. Dried mushroom powders, including lion's mane and a Padoo house blend, extend the range further for culinary and wellness use. Packaging across the fresh range uses 100% recycled cardboard, keeping the environmental commitment consistent right to the point of sale.
Impact on the gastronomic ecosystem
Padoo occupies a distinctive and active place within the Ghent food community, choosing to reach its customers not through intermediaries but through direct, face-to-face encounters at local markets and at the farm itself. Every Tuesday and Thursday, customers can collect fresh mushrooms directly from the farm at Opperhofstraat 30 in Drongen — a simple, unhurried exchange that keeps the connection between grower and eater alive. On the first and third Wednesday of each month, Padoo appears at the Boerenmarkt Jette Met' in Brussels; every Saturday at the Drongen market; and every Sunday at the Biomarkt Gent-Sint-Pieters, one of the city's most established organic food markets. This regular market presence is not simply a distribution strategy — it is an expression of the belief that food should be knowable, traceable, and bought from people who grew it. For chefs and retailers in the Ghent region, Padoo also supplies restaurant-ready, freshly harvested mushrooms, delivered weekly on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays in Ghent en on Tuesday and Friday across Flanders and Brussels.
Partnerships and collaborations
Wholesale deliveries to professional kitchens and retailers are made in partnership with Koolmees Bioboerderij, an organic farm based in Ichtegem, whose logistics network enables Padoo to reach chefs and shops across Flanders and Brussels while keeping the supply chain firmly within a regional, values-aligned framework. This collaboration reflects a broader commitment to building a food system in which small, organic producers support one another and share infrastructure rather than competing in isolation. Dried products are available for nationwide delivery, extending Padoo's reach beyond the local market without compromising on quality or provenance. For those who want to bring the growing process into their own home, the Padoo Growkit allows customers to cultivate their own mushrooms from the same substrate used on the farm. Every element of what Padoo offers — from the freshly picked cluster to the dried powder to the home-growing kit — is an invitation to engage more deeply with a food that is, in every sense, extraordinary.
Opperhofstraat 30, 9031 Gent, Belgium
https://www.padoo.be
@__padoo__
Tuesday & Thursday: 16:00-18:00 (farm pickup); Wednesday: 14:30-18:30 at Jette Met' Farmers Market (1st and 3rd week of month); Saturday: 09:00-13:00 at Drongen market; Sunday: 08:30-13:00 at Biomarkt Gent-Sint-Pieters
