Julien Nicolas takes great care with his mushrooms.They are even entitled to classical music and massages."We are here to give them all our love! But in itself, this action is there to stimulate the mycelium and induce growth," he explained on Friday at 7:30 p.m.Only a few days later, these exotic mushrooms are ready to be picked by this couple from Neuchâtel.Since this summer, they have been producing shiitake and oyster mushrooms in Cornaux (NE).And their output of one ton per month is already not enough to meet demand.“We have already doubled our production in eight to ten weeks. We are going to triple it again in the weeks to come. There is really a strong demand for products that are non-meat, to offer vegetarian menus to a growing public. “, explains Valérie Oppliger, co-founder of the company “Un amour de Pleurote”.Over the past five years, mushroom consumption has exploded in Switzerland.For exotic varieties alone, more were produced between January and October of last year than in the whole of 2017.The production of exotic mushrooms is on the rise in Switzerland.[USPC/FOAG - RTS]The indigenous culture is also attracting more and more people, especially restaurants.In Neuchâtel, the ramen restaurant Ichi, for example, cooks 10 kg of shiitake each week.All come from the region."I think it's very important to use local ingredients, especially if we have the same prices, instead of importing," says restaurant manager Kevin Kouch.Mushroom production is also of interest to researchers.At the University of Neuchâtel, Swiss morels are being studied in order to obtain a cultivable native variety."Morels are found only in specific corners, associated with specific plants, specific conditions... The applied goal would be to recreate these conditions in a confined environment to be sure that in the end we will obtain fruiting. Because the person who wants to live from that, they want performance," explains Saskia Bindschedler, researcher in mycology at the University of Neuchâtel.With more and more varieties being grown all year round, mushroom consumption is expected to continue to increase.Over the past two years, it has already broken records, approaching 12,000 tonnes.TV subject: Thierry Grünig, Sergio Villarmarzo Web adaptation: Vincent CherpillodThe Burgundy truffle threatened by global warmingVery few mushrooms in Swiss forests due to droughtThe Scientific Chronicle - NASA is interested in the superpowers of mushroomsMushrooms could be the future of mankind