5 Ways To Make The Most Of Truffle Season

One of the region’s most decadent accommodation options, Cape Lodge is up there as one of Australia’s luxury lodges. What better way to indulge in truffle hedonism than to take a deluxe mini-break? Enjoy a relaxing spa in your suite before meandering down the garden path for a truffle inspired dinner at the restaurant.

Under the artful eye of Chef Tony Howell (Chef Tone), the menu is classically French in style – you couldn’t get a more perfect pairing for this special ingredient. Dishes such as French gnocchi, beurre blanc, spinach, comte, and freshly harvested shaved truffle are just the beginning. For foodies that like to come home from a holiday inspired to get into their own kitchen, you can learn first-hand from Chef Tone on June 15 at Cape Lodge’s Black Mushrooms and Truffle Cooking Class. Your culinary flames will be fuelled with a cooking demonstration before sitting down and devouring a three course long table lunch.

Western Australia’s first ever truffière is a pretty good place to start your journey into the world of truffle discovery – and it’s just a short drive outside the Margaret River region. A visit to Manjimup’s Truffle & Wine Co is a memorable experience and not just thanks to the heady aroma of the luxurious fungi that abounds here. Founded in 1997, thanks to the microclimate and plenty of hard work, the company is now the largest producer of  black Périgord truffles in the world. One of the most expensive culinary ingredients on the market, they retail at about $3000/kg, so there’s definitely basis for their nickname as the ‘black diamond’ of truffles.

Why exactly are they so rare, and so expensive? This is the spot to learn the answer and much more about these beauties. Only growing on the roots of oak and hazelnut trees, it took six years from the planting of the first inoculated trees before the first truffle was discovered. A game of patience which has now resulted in over 40 kilometres of truffle producing trees among the beautiful surrounds of the property.

Ready for the ultimate hands-on encounter? This is one of the few truffières in the world that allows a select number of people to participate in the exhilarating experience of a truffle hunt. Only on offer during the winter months, you’ll get to join in and feel the heart racing excitement of a truffle discovery with one of their highly trained truffle dogs. After hunting down some precious bounty, head back to the  estate’s restaurant. Here you’ll taste a whole menu infused with Périgord truffles, whilst looking out over the undulating hillside filled with vines and truffle laden trees. Don’t forget to take home some of their truffle goodies from the shop on your way out.

Be assured of a menu sprinkled with truffle when you choose to lunch at Vasse Felix this winter. Wind your way down the driveway through some of the oldest vines in the region, and settle in to savour a meal from Head Chef Brendan Pratt. Having trained at some of the world’s top restaurants, he brings his fresh vision and creativity to the kitchen at Margaret River’s founding wine estate. Two truffle enriched dishes will be tempting diners this season.

Truffles and pasta are a classic combo, so here you’ll find pappardelle tossed through a pecorino and burnt butter emulsion with cured and confit egg yolk and generous truffle. For true truffle aficionados, you can follow up with a dish from the dessert menu: ‘Jerusalem artichoke, earl grey, green raisin’ consists of a tart with truffle freshly shaved on top.

Of course, you’ll need to choose a perfect match from the wine list. Pratt’s advice? “Truffles are a beautiful Cabernet Sauvignon match due to the savoury earth driven style you find here in Margaret River. Truffles are also a great match for our Chardonnays as they tend to lend themselves to similar flavour and texture profiles that we see when we match a dish with our Chardonnay. Ie. butter, garlic, a little sweetness, lightly smoky, very mild acid, miso, earthy vegetable.”

Tucked down in the quaint seaside town of Augusta, Maggie’s Place at Augusta is a treasure trove for foodies. Maggie carefully selects the best local produce and products for the shelves of her cosy store, and she is a full bottle on each and every one. A truffle lover herself, she is quick to extol it’s earthy virtues, “truffle anything is special!”. Take your pick from three products at her store: Truffle Oil, Truffle Mustard and Truffle Salt. “Customers, especially visitors, love these products because they are different and exotic and  they are from  WA. Light and easy to carry home, they make great gifts as they are so special and unusual.”

Image Credits: Jessica Wyld, Elements Margaret River