All noses will be on the Granite Belt on Sunday, August 5 as Tartufo, the region’s first Truffle Fest kicks off with a day of feasting and entertainment all about truffles.
Although Queensland’s truffle industry is small in comparison to southern states, there is high interest in these delicious treats.
Tartufo is a chance to purchase freshly dug Granite Belt truffles harvested in a 40km radius around Stanthorpe. As the appetite for truffles on the day may be larger than what the Granite Belt produces that week, there may be some additional truffles from the Canberra region.
Truffle Fest organiser Matt Hibberd expects to use up to four kilograms of truffles on the day with an estimated value over more than $10,000.
Visitors can enjoy a gourmet truffled breakfast and gourmet truffled roast lunch, (fresh truffles and truffle products available to enhance your dish), guest speakers, celebrity chef cooking demonstrations, music, community markets hub, truffiere tour, meeting truffle detection dogs and detection dog demonstrations and the Lawdogs Australia demonstration show.
It all takes place on the cool green lawns of the Truffle Discovery Centre, located on one of the Granite Belt’s highest ridges at The Summit.
More about Tartufo – Truffle Fest
- Feast on truffles
- Learn how to hunt truffles
- Truffle cooking tips
- Where to find it
Feast on truffles
It wouldn’t be a truffle festival without plenty of flavoursome food.
Tartufo’s line-up includes a delicious truffled breakfast with plenty of country bacon and farm fresh eggs along with roving waters serving sliced truffles.
Lunch is a four-meat feast with spit roast beef with jus, pulled pork with hickory glaze, rosemary lamb, roasted chicken, chat potatoes, dinner roll. Salads and sides include New York coleslaw, stockman’s potato salad, Hawaiian rice, Italian pasta salad, bean and pumpkin salad, Mediterranean vegetables and roving waters serving truffles to garnish.
Both breakfast and lunch are available via pre-purchased tickets. For more information on tickets visit the Truffle Discovery Centre. Booking close on Monday.
Truffle hunting demonstrations
Pit your nose against the Conan, the truffle dog and see who can find the truffles faster at Tartufo.
Tartufo organiser and Lawdogs Australia founder Matt Hibberd trains canines to truffle-hunt and says it can be quite simple get them sniffing out these black gems.
“It’s all about teaching the dog to associate finding the smell of the truffle on the ground with their favourite ball or toy appearing,” Matt says.
Truffle Fest cooking tips
There will be plenty of delicious truffle aroma in the air as chefs Ash Martin from Spicers Hidden Vale, and Josh Lawson demonstrate how to get the best out of these precious black beauties.
Josh Lawson will show you how to make truffle roasted root vegetables with roasted hazelnuts, radicchio, truffle cider dressing and black garlic cheese.
His truffle orecchiette with pork sausage, fresh peas, kale, mixed mushrooms, pecorino, garlic and cream will have your taste buds dancing. Josh will finish with Polenta olive oil cake with truffle honey apples and mascarpone.
Truffles are not only a culinary boost. Monica Groenart from Southern Queensland Country Tourism will speak about culinary tourism and the growth of festivals and importance to regional areas.
Where is Tartufo?
Follow your nose or a map to The Truffle Discovery Centre at 335 Church Road, The Summit. Ignore your GPS and be guided by the signs to Lawdogs Australia.
Learn more about truffles on Queensland’s Granite Belt.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post.
