Jake Kellie headlines Truffle Kerfuffle, Manjimup 23-25 June.
Just ten days to go until Manjimup’s “black gold” is celebrated at Truffle Kerfuffle, Australia’s favourite food festival.
Held in the heart of Australian truffle country in Manjimup in Western Australia’s south west, it is the most prolific truffle producing region in the Southern Hemisphere.
By popular demand, more truffle hunts at the family-run Australian Truffle Traders farm have been added to the Truffle Kerfuffle program that include bus transfers to and from the festival at Fonty’s Pool.
Colin Fassnidge who headlines Truffle Kerfuffle this year, says he can’t wait to get to Manjimup and experience his first truffle hunt.
“The last time I was there I was a backpacker. It will be very different this time, I can afford to eat, and I’ll be eating a lot of truffles – freshly shaved truffle enhances any dish,” says Fassnidge.
“In all my years living here in Australia, I’ve always used Australian truffles and they stand up to the best truffles from the rest of the world.
“I love the region, being on the other side of Australia, it does feel different – the flora, the fauna and food, especially the food,” says the Sydney-based chef and star of MKR.
Colin Fassnidge headlines Truffle Kerfuffle, Manjimup, 23-25 June
Dublin-born Fassnidge will appear at the Festival Village and do a free cooking demonstration.
“You can expect to see fresh, local produce, always essential ingredients, and if you’ve ever been to one of my demos, you’ll know that you never know what to expect, I always go rogue!”
There are still tickets available to the Festival Village and truffle lovers are advised to keep checking trufflekerfuffle.com.au for last minute tickets to the long table dinners.
Last tickets remain for the Truffle and Native Forager’s Brunch with chef Paul ‘Yoda’ Iskov on Saturday 24 June, and From the Forest Floor Brunch with chef Jake Kellie, co-owner of Adelaide’s Arkhé on Sunday 25 June.
Paul ‘Yoda’ Iskov is known for his roaming pop-up restaurant Fervor that creates incredible culinary experiences in beautiful and often remote locations. He has a great love and respect for the land and native produce and endeavours to portray this through his food, locations, dedication and passion. He has experience in highly acclaimed kitchens around the world including Vue De Monde, Amuse, D.O.M, COI, Pujol and Noma.
Iskov’s mouth-watering brunch menu includes smoked chicken egg, emu egg yolk fudge, truffle and brown butter panko, emu chorizo and truffle emulsion, chestnut polenta, fungi, truffle potato, wattleseed bread and smoked butter and more.
Jake Kellie, former head chef of Burnt Ends (Singapore), was the recipient of the San Pellegrino World Young Chef of the Year Award for South East Asia, and his extensive resume includes time with culinary rock stars such as Heston Blumenthal (The Fat Duck, United Kingdom), Brett Graham (The Ledbury, Notting Hill), Scott Pickett (Estelle, Melbourne) and Matt Moran (Aria, Sydney).
Kellie says for his multi-course brunch, he’s bringing over a few things from the restaurant for his special brunch.
“Expect things like blistered tomatoes with house made lardo on toast, cured meats, truffle brie, grilled fig jam and burnt-flour grissini, truffle stracciatella, quail eggs and more. Then we’ll have a chargrilled chicken with fermented grains, sweet corn, crème fraîche and loads of freshly grated truffle. Then to finish, poached pear tartefine with truffle chantilly cream,” Kellie says.
The Truffle Kerfuffle Festival Village is where you can lose yourself amongst heady the aroma of freshly shaved truffle and truffle laden dishes.
Wander through the undercover Marketplace to meet local farmers, producers, winemakers and the community that make up the Southern Forests and Valleys region. Plus, there’ll be plenty of truffle-laden dishes to try and buy.
The Festival Village Stage is where to watch free cooking demonstrations by Colin Fassnidge, Analiese Gregory, Jake Kellie, Paul Iskov, Amanda Yoong, Marissa Verma and Samira Damirova and hosted by the always entertaining, chef Tony Howell.
Dive deeper in the region by learning about its produce and world of truffles during an afternoon tour ‘Unearth the Southern Forests’ that goes behind the scenes to farms for agricultural experiences and tastings.
Besides agriculture, the region has fascinating and stunning natural landscapes waiting to be revealed in a half day Beach and Forest Eco Adventure Tour with Pemberton Discovery Tours. Be dwarfed by the towering trees in the old-growth Karri Forest and then marvel at the largest landlocked sand dunes in the Southern Hemisphere. The contrast of scenery from lush forests to seemingly desert needs to be seen to be believed.
Now is the time for a winter escape to Western Australia’s most decadent food festival.
With crisp winter air filled with the heady aroma of fresh truffle, Truffle Kerfuffle promises to take you on a journey of rediscovering the beautiful region of the Southern Forests and Valleys, from the ground up.
The 11th edition of Truffle Kerfuffle (a not-for-profit community event) is a highlight on the Australian tourism and food-lover’s calendar.
Truffle Kerfuffle is proudly supported by the Western Australian State Government through Tourism WA’s Regional Events Program, Fonty’s Pool and the Shire of Manjimup.
Date: 23 – 25 June 2023
Location: Fonty’s Pool, Manjimup, Western Australia
www.trufflekeruffle.com.au
