Discerning food lovers can plan ahead this winter with bookings now open for Hound & Hunter’s Truffle Hunts and a Country Lunch in Manjimup, Western Australia, the Australian heart of truffle country.
Sister business of Hound & Hunter, Australian Truffle Traders, has invited guests to their farm to experience a truffle hunt, sharing how they cultivate and harvest the alluring black truffle.
The rare culinary experience of unearthing first-class quality truffles is only available for a few short months, starting in June and ending in late August.
Limited to small groups, the three-hour experience is led by Australia’s most experienced truffle growing family, the Booth family of Australian Truffle Traders.
There, they meet trained truffle dogs, walk between the oak and hazelnut trees to discover truffles at the source, following the noses and tail wags of Gidgee, Max, Gunnah, Ruby and Malu.
Guests have the opportunity to dig up fresh truffle themselves, a prized culinary ingredient.
The cool, clean air and truffle aroma seeping up through the soil ignites an appetite, that’s soon satiated by a three-course country feast laden with freshly cultivated black truffle and truffle products developed by acclaimed chef, David Coomer.
The country lunch at Hound & Hunter includes house-made products and seasonal produce, a gourmet charcuterie with freshly baked sourdough baguette, a rustic a hearty main course and decadent, seasonal dessert.
Gavin Booth, owner of the family business Australian Truffle Traders, says guests are always in awe each time a truffle is unearthed during one of the intimate truffle hunts.
“People get blown away when they can smell the truffle through the soil and carefully brush away the dirt to reveal a perfect truffle,” he says.
“There’s nothing quite like breathing in the distinctive truffle aroma as a perfectly formed, ripe truffle is harvested.
“Then we go and taste truffles at Hound & Hunter and we pride ourselves on never, ever using the likes of truffle oil or any other chemical derived fake truffle products.
“With no Truffle Kerfuffle happening again this year, truffle lovers can lock in their preferred date now to join us on a truffle hunt on our farm in Manjimup and plan their winter escape.”
Last week, it was announced that the annual truffle festival, Truffle Kerfuffle, has been paused again this year.
Hound & Hunter in Manjimup in Western Australia’s south west is a café and test kitchen that crafts truffle products such as truffle pate, truffle terrine, truffle butter and more. No synthetic truffle aromas or synthetic truffle products are used, ever.
Manjimup black truffles, tuber melanosporum, often called Périgord truffles, are in high demand.
“During truffle season, we ship fresh black truffles all over the world, from Copenhagen to California,” Gavin says.
Truffle hunts take place on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays during truffle season.
