We were lucky to catch up with Bernice Vargas Luna recently and have shared our conversation below.

Bernice, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

El Hongo Mágico was created after my partner and I had transitioned to a plant-based diet and could not find options that reflected our culture and our flavor, so we created these recipes for ourselves at home. After awhile and experiencing the positive results of eating plants, we wanted to share this with our community.

In our plant-based journey we found mushrooms and all the many varieties it comes in and ways to use this as protein in our recipes. By using mushrooms, we minimize the use of processed ingredients and soy, tofu, or gluten.

We had experienced the same chronic diseases and symptoms from the standard American diet and found healing through eating plant-based foods. It was critical for us to share our recipes with the community. Through events and festivals, we have learned so much about dietary needs and preferences, that we happily stand for whole plant-based eating and present a true Plant-Based a la Mexicana experience!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Carlos was dealing with the symptoms of chronic gut disease and was facing a surgery that would remove 18 inches of colon. The recovery for that surgery presented a lot of complications based on research and he decided to follow a plant-based diet to see if he could avoid the need for surgery. At this time, Bernice was also dealing with diabetes, fatty liver disease, and high cholesterol, so she decided to take on this change as well. While Carlos went directly to plant-based whole foods and gluten-free, Bernice transitioned to vegetarian and after a few months of the diet and seeing the changes, she made the change to plant-based as well.

It was April of 2021 and eating plant-based for only a while, they were on a trip in Mexico when they discovered an oyster mushroom which mimicked a steak. After tasting this amazing mushroom, they decided to explore more of the culinary mushroom kingdom. This lead to understanding that all mushrooms are magical in their benefits to our bodies and a tasty protein in our tacos!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The reaction to mushrooms or not using meat in our tacos was at first, demotivating and frustrating! We knew that our tacos tasted like nothing they’ve experienced before, but their willingness to try them was not there. We soon understood that we needed to sell our tacos through educating the consumer on why mushrooms, explaining our story, and highlighting the components in our tacos, both authentic and delicious. This experience taught us that we have a unique, niche product that has a targeted audience that does exist. Once we understood that, we presented at ourselves at events that were for plant-based and vegans in the community. There, we found an audience that not only welcomed us, but they embraced us and continue to support us.
Now when we vend at non-vegan spaces, we are better able to present our food based on what works!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

We recently entered into an agreement in a space that did not provide what we needed to be successful in our business. We were not generating revenue in that space and after 6 months of losing revenue, we had to decide whether to continue or move on. Coming to this decision was not easy and not both partners were agreeing on how to proceed. But while we did not understand all the legalities that it would involve, we came to realize that we could not continue.

We made the decision to terminate the contract and find new space to work from. It was at this time that the opportunity to become a brand in the XMarket Foodhall came to us! We are now about 3 months in and growing our business!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tacoselhongomagico.com/
• Instagram: @tacoselhongomagico
• Facebook: @tacoselhongomagico

Image Credits
Chris Sanders Photography