Chester County foragers are turning their hobby into lucrative additional income, thanks to the increased interest in different kinds of mushrooms from Philadelphia chefs, writes Samantha Melamed for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Tug DeLuce of Kennett Square turned to serious foraging after he found a windfall of maitake mushrooms, also known as the hen of the woods. These can weigh anywhere from 10 to 30 pounds each.

“I posted on Facebook and said, ‘I found 50 pounds of hen of the woods. Does anyone want any?’” he said. “A guy I went to high school with was a chef in Philadelphia, and he told me to come down. He paid $200 for one mushroom.”

He also pointed DeLuce to other chefs who purchased the remaining 40 pounds he still had in his car.

Since then, DeLuce has been selling his foraged mushrooms to restaurants citywide. He also holds workshops in which he shares his love of mushroom foraging. He is now working on convincing local chefs to try using some of the lesser-known varieties found across Southeastern Pennsylvania.

“In the summer, I could find 100 species of edible mushrooms, and they range across the rainbow, purple, red, green, orange, even blue,” he said.

Read more about Tug DeLuce in the Philadelphia Inquirer here.