If you’re a regular on Los Angeles Farmers’ Markets, you might have noticed a produce stand that stands out (yes, pun intended!). Instead of the general variety of local California veggies and fruits, this stand presents an outstanding variety of freshly harvested mushrooms. Did I say mushrooms? Yes! Name anything from Chanterelle to Morels to Porcini to Black Trumpet to Shiitake - and the list goes on - and you can almost be sure that LA FungHi has it.

LA FungHi offers the widest selection of mushrooms in Southern California. And that’s a fact.

And while the selection and quality of LA FungHi produce is special - so is its owner and founder Dirk Hermann. Because Dirk is a German Master Chef. His culinary skills paired with his passion for mushrooms make Dirk your unusually resourceful farmer’s market vendor. When buying mushrooms from LA FungHi, you might find Dirk sharing some insider mushroom cooking tips with you.

Passionate About Mushrooms

Dirk became acquainted with mushrooms when he was a young boy. Growing up in the Bavarian Alps, his parents owned a number of restaurants and hotels. During several seasons, mushroom hunters came by and traded mushrooms for meals or beer. That’s when Dirk started to establish an affinity for cooking and his passion for mushrooms. From 1979 to 1982, he studied to become a chef. At the age of 18, he owned his first restaurant, Gasthof Drexle, located 45 miles south of Munich, close to Austria in the Bavarian Alps.

During Dirk’s ownership, a man named Heini would always come by with several varieties of mushrooms. They would test the consistency, color, and flavor. Then the deal was: How many beers or meals would the man get for those mushrooms? Later on, Dirk studied to become a master chef at the Bavarian school of hotel management in Altoetting.

Today, Dirk is proud to offer the best mushrooms Angelenos can think of. And I am proud to welcome LA FungHi to the grenniMEDIA family. If you’re interested in LA FungHi and the mushrooms they offer check out their website, or Facebook fan page, or become an LA FungHi follower on Twitter!

Lena Wins the Eurovision Song Contest with Satellite

In 2010, Lena’s song Satellite received the highest number of points from televoters and juries from 39 countries. But even weeks before the ESC final in Oslo, Lena’s single topped the German charts. And the 19-year-old high school student from Hannover conquered the hearts of the German audience and the press alike. Coming out of nowhere, Lena had to cope with her sudden and unexpected success and fame. And she did it so well that she has set an example for many of us when it comes to dealing with success. No matter if we’re seeing a product or a company rapidly taking of, there are two valuable lessons that we can learn from Germany’s young singer:

Success Is Not Life

When Lena was asked at the press conference in Oslo how she felt about winning the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest she answered “Winning is a gut feeling, but it is not everything. It is awesome, but it is not life, and I want to enjoy it as much as I can.” At 19 years old, Lena speaks words of wisdom. If you experience a time of success, enjoy it (if you worked hard for it, like Lena, you deserve it!) but know that any kind of triumph won’t be there to last. Prepare yourself to work towards your next achievement.

Staying Grounded

Despite all the media hype around her talent and her success, Lena has managed (so far) to stay grounded. She has kept a clear head. Whether on stage or in interviews, she acts completely natural - and her fans love her for that.

Admittedly, it’s not easy to continue with the same ease and genuineness after achieving success. Whether your recently published book has become a bestseller, your product is flying off the shelves or your art unexpectedly finds great response - sudden success transports us to a state of happiness, triumph, and pride.

Lena’s mentor, German music producer Stefan Raab, knows how to handle the situation. In an interview with the German news magazine Der Spiegel Raab said his priority will be to protect Lena from the subsequent media hype. He is currently developing a strategy on how to continue Lena’s success without putting her teenage life at risk.

How do you cope with success? What’s your strategy to stay grounded? In your opinion, what’s the formula for continued success? I’m looking forward to your comments.

German native Lars Deutsch has been working successfully as a music composer for film and business projects in Berlin for years. While he was working in Berlin, the Hollywood industry started noticing him. Film music as well as audio branding are Lars’ specialties. In just a few months, Lars seems to have conquered the Hollywood crowd and is busy working for top names in the business. What are Lars’ ambitions when it comes to a German composer working in Los Angeles? And does living in the Californian metropolis affect his sound? Lars Deutsch answered these and other questions in an exclusive interview with grenniMEDIA.

Composer Lars Deutsch, copyright: Lars Deutsch

Nina Grenningloh: Lars, you are successful as a composer for film, video games and business projects in Germany. What do you expect from a move to Los Angeles?

Lars Deutsch: I have a long long list of exciting projects and offers here in LA, and I guess I will be pretty busy. It will be much easier to handle those projects efficiently in LA rather than flying back and forth between Germany and the US. It’s also great to escape the German winters. I guess the biggest surprise was for me how many great people I met - so I truly expect to have a great time in LA.

NG: What, in your opinion, has the American entertainment industry to offer that a professional like you would not find in Germany?

LD: There is no place like Hollywood. And if you write music for movies, the movie pretty much decides before you start working on it if you have a chance to do something exciting. So it’s natural that you want to sign on with the best possible film to be able to do your best possible work. Just like any ambitious athlete wants to be in the best possible team. I also like the attitude of the people. They want to entertain and get stuff done, which seems kind of obvious, but is by no means common in Europe.

NG: Can you tell us about some of the projects you are currently working on in Hollywood?

LD: I am currently composing for a US comedy show called “Getting By” featuring Kate Micucci (from “When in Rome”). I have recently finished an exciting project called “Lostbox” starring Joseph Fiennes and Sir Ian McKellen. And there are other great projects on the horizon, which I cannot talk about yet…

NG: You already tested the waters in LA - in how far is your sound influenced by the American experience?

LD: There is certainly an influence. After I wrote music for a US animated film a couple of years back for the first time, I have adjusted a little. American projects do sound different and some of my European stuff would not work in an American production. However, I think part of my success is due to the fact that I do not sound like everybody else and that I do not recycle film music clichés. In a way, I needed to adjust my music to keep it as “out there” as it is in Europe, but for the US.

Lars Deutsch - photo by SuiradO

NG: Part of what you offer is the creation of sound logos and audio branding in general. Do you see differences in the way sound is used for product or company branding in Germany and the US?

LD: This is a very exciting field, especially in a city like a LA where there are so many media companies. Nowadays, I think it is a little weird if you are doing business in media and you do not have an audio logo. I think there are minor differences for any company that wants to sound modern. A green tech company will be looking for a similar effect regardless whether it is from the US or Germany.

However, if you want to go for traditional values associated with a particular industry the differences can be huge. However, I think the differences lie more in the companies and their message than in their location. I wonder how many people actually know that competitors Adidas and Puma are practical neighbors. Sometimes you see funny clashes of old and new. I personally love the old Hollywood sound. However, when I’m sitting in a state-of-the-art cinema in LA watching their modern visual logo but hearing fanfares from the 50s I feel somebody has not done his job properly.

NG: Thanks, Lars, for this interview and good luck!