In a converted warehouse in Hochelaga, two former engineers are quietly reinventing urban agriculture their way with the mushrooms of Full Pin. Founded by Vathana Len and Daniel Vogt, they grow gourmet fungi for some of Montreal’s top kitchens using a tech-forward, no-middleman model. Every bag of substrate is prepped, inoculated, and fruited on site, with harvests timed to restaurant demand and deliveries made within 24 hours. The pair built everything themselves—from humidity-monitoring software to hot-dog-steamer-like sterilizers—transforming their curiosity into a finely tuned mycological operation.
For Vathana, whose mother secretly cultivated mushrooms to feed her family during the Khmer Rouge, the work is personal. For chefs across the city, it’s game-changing. For anyone paying attention, Full Pin is proof that fungi can flourish in even the most unlikely conditions.
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