Truffle hunting trips this winter in Western Australian

Local truffle growers have as many rivalries and secrets as their European counterparts. A few years ago there was a certain amount of biffo in a Tasmanian pub between two of the industry’s pioneers Duncan Garvey of Perigord Truffles and Tasmanian Truffle Enterprises’ Tim Terry. No doubt none of that is in the past.

Back in 2004 Hazel Hill Farm in Western Australia, the first to bring the truffle spores to the Australian mainland, yielded 4kg of Perigord truffles. In 2005 it was 26kg and 2006 about 100kg. The 2007 harvest didn’t live up to some of the hype. Nevertheless the WA farm is producing enough truffles and has trained enough dogs to offer truffle hunting tours from $55 a person, reports the Kirkfood blog. Advanced booking is recommended and “with some luck and persistence, you can experience the exhilaration of finding the gourmet French black truffle and smelling its pungent and unique perfume fresh out of the ground”.