Tasty Truffle Festival in Melbourne

The Truffle Melbourne Festival 2015 featured everything from frites with truffled aioli to chocolate truffled truffles and triple crème brie with truffles to even a ooey gooey truffled mac and cheese and a truffle-speckled ice cream.

I was in truffle foodie heaven yesterday in Melbourne! And lucky you, the festival continues today, Sunday July 12th, at the Ivanhoe Centre, just a 30-minute train ride away from the city center.

As you all probably know, I’m a sucker for any type of event featuring food. But throw in a chance to meet some of Australia’s top chefs AND local producers, I’m sold.

Did you know that Australia is the fourth largest producer of black truffles in the world behind France, Italy and Spain? I didn’t know until we moved here.

During the past 10 years or so, farmers have planted fields of oak and hazelnut trees that have been inoculated with the black truffle mycorrhiza. Now, truffle farms have been established in Tasmania, western and south Australia, Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales. It still takes a couple years before truffles grow and then can be found by the cute truffle hunting dogs, which we also met at the festival.

Right now is the season to find fresh truffles on restaurants’ menus or from local producers in the form of cheese, chocolates, eggs, beer, butter, ice cream and more. And that truffled ice cream is REALLY good!

Chef Guy Grossi, cookbook author and restaurant owner, demonstrated how to make fresh durum wheat semolina pasta with sliced potatoes and tons of shaved truffles and parmesan cheese. After his demonstration, I met Grossi, who signed my new cookbook, “Recipes from My Mother’s Kitchen.”

"A recipe is like a road map," says Grossi. Use the recipe as your guide in the kitchen. Great advice!

Grossi also says the three key Italian ingredients to have in any kitchen are: garlic, olive oil and fresh pasta.

Angel Fernandez, head chef at Rosetta, an Italian fine dining restaurant in Melbourne, also demonstrated how to make a fresh pasta with truffles.

The truffle festival was a spectacular introduction to Australia’s luxurious black truffles. I cannot wait to enjoy more while we’re here!

You can buy festival tickets online here or at the door at the Ivanhoe Centre.

Truffle festival goodies that we'll be enjoying at home.