Australian Truffle Festivals website

As locals, Wayne Haslam and I knew Capital Country was perfect for a food and cultural Festival focussed on truffles. With its higher income demographic and an educated audience, the region has the advantage of a central city location and a wide choice of facilities.  So we launched the Capital Country Truffle Festival in  2009, to provide the opportunity for growers and food service users and consumers to interact. Wayne had visited the successful Mundaring Truffle Festival in West Australia, which started in 2007 (but is not held in a truffle growing area), he could see that it was a good way to educate both industry and the public, asked me to help organise and promote it. I agreed and became a truffle groupie.   

By all measures it was a big success. Events included truffle hunts, cooking demonstrations, tastings, degustation dinners, and markets.
We attracted both locals and lots of visitors to the region, in a traditionally quiet time for tourism. The estimate is that the increase in truffles sold last year was 400% on 2008 sales in the region.  Some of the restaurants who took path described it as their best months trading of the year.  

So it was obviously something that the other main region of NSW growers, in the corridor from the Blue Mountains down to past Bathurst were interested in. It’s an area rich in its own food culture and attracts local and Sydney foodies to it’s many events. So, with the help of Orange and Bathurst organisers Kim Currie and Christine LeFevre, 2010 sees the start of their festival, to run over the monthy of July and to be called something like Capital Ranges Truffle Time.  Keep watching this site for updates.
Fred Harden

Our Aims

We are seeking a greater understanding of truffles and the pleasure of their consumption.  We believe this will involve improved education of the food industry in the use of truffles, and an education of consumers. It is important to increase awareness of the local nature of the industry (many people think truffles are only from Tasmanian or West Australia).  Through the Festival we will see an increase in the industry in the NSW area, with greater support for local growers and the promotion of the Industry  The Festival promotion will assist industry support facilities such as rural service providers offering harvest labour, and the essential truffle dog handlers.  

Introducing the Festival Organisers 

See www.trufflegrowers.com.au  for Australian grower information. See here for some background on the industry.)