Sample menu

Parmesan and Walnut Royale,

Cream Of Asparagus And Truffle

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Seared Scallops, Cod Brandade,

White Bean and Truffle Veloute, Pancetta Dust

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Free Range Chicken And Truffle Galantine,

Foie Gras Creme Brulee

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Braised Beef Cheek,

Madeira And Fruffle Sauce

(Sauce Perigueux)

'Celeri-Sotto', Caramelised Onion

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Black Diamond And Granny Smith Charlotte,

Chestnut Emulsion,

Truffle Ice Cream

Keller is just one of a group of international chefs who have found an answer to their dreams in Manjimup: out-of-season truffle supplies.

Truffles are a winter crop, but in the northern hemisphere it's now summer.

So the chef who can put truffle on a northern hemisphere menu at this time of the year is going to have a competitive advantage among wealthy European and North American diners in need of a summer truffle fix.

Keller, Sam Beall, from Tennessee's posh Blackberry Farm Restaurant, and Daniel Boulud, of New York's chic Restaurant Daniel, will pay up to $2200/kg for "black gold" from Manjimup's The Wine and Truffle Company.

Its chief executive, Alan Neilson, has good news for them.

"The first truffles have begun to pop their head out of the ground - and it looks like it's going to be a bumper crop," he said.

Apart from the flavour - the Manjimup truffles are exact clones of the Perigord black from France - overseas buyers can also get WA truffles faster than European-picked ones.

"We have a two-day turnaround from paddock to European plate," Mr Neilson said.

"We pick it on Sunday and it's on a plane on Sunday night.

"In Europe the process starts with a truffle hunter who digs it up; he then sells at a local market where a middleman sells it into the restaurant trade and then eventually on to a chef.

"Turn-around time can be 5-7 days."

After Perigord and Alba in Italy, Manjimup is the world's third truffle centre.

In Perth, truffle dinners, truffle degustation menus, truffle and wine nights and "Truffle Tuesday" menus will start being advertised over the next few weeks.

And enjoying the heady, musky, mushrooms-on-steroids flavour of the black truffle doesn't need to be expensive. At Subiaco's Bistro Felix, owner Jeremy Cariss said Rottnest scallops on the half shell with leek ala Grecque, topped with a slice of truffle would cost $10 each.

Cariss said the Manjimup product is spectacular.

"We love that it's seasonal and local … and the romance of it. We look forward to the truffle season. There's a real buzz about it," he said.

The best way to eat truffle? Most aficionados will tell you that shaving it fresh over home-made egg pasta in a foaming butter sauce, is the apogee of truffle eating. Similarly, a truffle omelette will have devotees heavy breathing.

Truffles cost up to $3000/kg at retail, but pasta for four requires just 50-60g, which makes truffled pasta and egg dishes accessible for the home cook.

Manjimup truffles will start appearing in specialty stores, like Subiaco's Simon Johnson, over the next few weeks with supply steadily increasing as the season reaches its high point in July.

The WA season is over by August.

But do truffles live up to the hype?

Bistro Felix chef Dominic Grundy sums it up:"Every time I walk in the fridge, I just get hit with this amazing smell. There's nothing like it."

"I just love coming to work in June and July," he said.

Premium Truffle Hill Wines will be served to complement each dish.
Seven Course Truffle Dego incl. Premium Truffle Hill Wine   $210 pp

Sample Menu

Potato Bread with homemade Truffle Butter
 
Salmon Carpaccio with Truffle Ponzu Dressing
 
Scallop & Truffle Sandwich
dressed with a traditional Truffle Mayonnaise

Truffle studded Snapper
wrapped with continental Bacon on a leek – potato cake
 
sautéed Duck Liver on truffled Hommus
spinach leaves in sherry vinaigrette

Truffle & Rabbit Cannelloni
on Cepe Mushroom fumée
 
Braised Beef Roulade filled with cured Veal Shank
on a rich wine merchant sauce, roast vegetables and Truffle Crumble

Truffle – Honey Ice Cream
with fresh goats curd, roasted pear and hazelnut tuille

Coffee & Tea
For bookings call us on: 9316 3600

Gala Restaurant

22 Kearns Crescent Applecross

P:9316 3600

Fully Licensed

If you are a chef, please fill in our online form to be notified first, click here

Truffle and Wine Dinner - Sample Menu

Truffled Duck Egg Sabayon, Game Consomme,
 Brioche ‘Soldiers’

Lobster Terrine, Truffled ‘Vichyssoise’

Pithivier of Hunter Valley Partridge, Chestnut, Medjool Date,
Sauce Perigord

Palate Cleanser

Veal ‘Zurichoise’, Truffle, Veal Shank, Artichoke,
Foie Gras

Truffle Ice Cream, Roquefort, Walnut ‘Soil’, Pear

Petit Fours

* menu subject to seasonal variation

Read Sophie's Bio and Sophie's Culinary Accomodation

The Truffle Affaire promises to be an experience to remember. Tickets on sale now $245 per person. Visit www.wineandtruffle.com.au to book now..

CONTACT: Rebecca Letch, Event Coordinator, Wine & Truffle Company, 0411 693 886, rebecca@wineandtruffle.com.au

Sample Menu

Vanilla Mushroom Cappuccino
Janisson & Fils Tradition NV

Scallop and White Rocks Veal Sweetbreads
Truffle Hill 2007 Reserve Series Chardonnay

Mulloway, gnocchi and ceps
Truffle Hill 2007 Reserve Riesling

Spelt Risotto
Truffle Hill 2007 Merlot

‘Beef Rossini’
Black Angus Beef, Foie Gras, Truffle Madeira Jus and Potato Galette
Truffle Hill 2004 Reserve Series Shiraz Cabernet

Tonka bean and white chocolate

Truffle Panna Cotta with Pistachio Biscotti
Truffle Hill 2008 Reserve Series Cane Cut Riesling

$190per person

*All wines are served as tasting pours.

Wednesday, 9 June 2010

Amuse Bouche
2010 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc

Chicken Terrine with Truffles and Foie Gras Chives Creme Fraiche and Frisée
2009 Riesling

Grilled Crisp Skin Salmon on Oyster Mushrooms, Truffles & Leeks
2008 Reserve Chardonnay

Lamb Racks with Truffled Mustard Crust on Green Beans with Almonds and Truffles Port Jus and Truffle Mash
2007 Shiraz

Truffle & Tonka Bean Panna Cotta with Hazelnuts in Truffle Honey
2008 Cane Cut Riesling

$ 180 per person

For bookings and contact details, please visit George Street's website - http://www.george-street.com.au/

Divido & Truffle Hill Wines Black Truffle Degustation Dinner

Tuesday, 1st June 2010

Potato Tortellini, Local Scallops, Jerusalem Artichoke Sauce, Black Truffles
’08 Truffle Hill Sauvignon Blanc

Barramundi Cartoccio Style, Fennel, Thyme, Vermouth, Black Truffles
’08 Truffle Hill “Reserve Series” Chardonnay

Buffalo Mozzarella, Porcini & Black Truffles Pizza
’08 Truffle Hill Merlot

Wood Roasted Beef Fillet Umbria Style, Fontina, Wet Polenta, Black Truffles
’07 Truffle Hill “Reserve Series” Shiraz

Croatian Doughnuts, Honey, Black Truffle Ice Creams
’08 Truffle Hill “Reserve Series” Cane Cut Riesling

$160 per person

For bookings and contact details, please visit Divido's website - http://www.divido.com.au/events/truffle-dinner.htm

 Read the full article here http://chubbyhubby.net/blog/?p=585

The second article is about the world famous Mundaring Truffle Festival which the Wine and Truffle Company are a proud major sponser. We supply to all the best chefs in the world, from Thomas Keller to Tetsuya Wakuda. With the Aussie-truffle season hitting its peak in what would be summer in the Northern Hemisphere, chefs across the USA and Europe are now purchasing Perigord Black Truffles all year round.

Read the full article here http://chubbyhubby.net/blog/?p=582

CONTACT: Rebecca Letch, Event Coordinator, Wine & Truffle Company, 0411 693 886, rebecca@wineandtruffle.com.au

We'll use the fresh ones in Iain's amazing dishes in the cafe, plus we'll start making some new season Hazelnuts in Truffle Honey and Hazelnut Dukkah.

Read the full report here.

Pictured (left to right) Tourism Manager Paul Nolan, Frances Lee Truffle Hunter with Sunny & Izzie..- Daniel Henney and Korean Iron Chef Sung Woo Park

In the Trufferie, on a truffle hunt with Fran, Sunny and Izzie.

2010 RSM Bird Cameron Timber Towns Regional Wine Show, covers the Manjimup, Pemberton and Blackwood Valley regions.

The show the strength of the 2009 vintage for Sauvignon Blanc from Truffle Hill with both the Truffle Hill Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2009 and the Truffle Hill Sauvignon Blanc 2009 awarded silver medals.

Three of our team, Paul, Cassie and the winemaker Mark attended the Awards Dinner and Paul Nolan, Our Tourism Manager was happy to accept the award on behalf everyone at Truffle Hill Wines.

Here's Paul with the trophy and you can read more about the event here.

A little oomph in the kitchen can sometimes be what is needed to turn a dish from something everyday into something special. With our gourmet truffle products that “wow factor” canbe easy to find.

One thing that we often get asked in our cellar door at Manjimup and when we are showing off the range of our truffle products at foodie shows around Australia is “how do I use it?”

While we have lots of truffle recipe ideas we thought it might be fun to see what others have come up with. So here is a round up of truffle recipes which we found in some of the more popular magazine. So here are some more ideas on how to make a dish into something special, no matter if you are using Truffle Oil, Truffle salt or Truffle Honey. The ideas are endless!

From Gourmet Traveller

Lardo, truffle honey and walnuts
Lardo is also called prosciutto bianco, or white prosciutto and is a beautiful antipasto that has a touch of sweetness.

From Notebook

Scallop risotto with truffle oil
An Italian favourite with a special hit of Truffle Oil

From Delicious Magazine

Little croustades with scrambled eggs and truffle oil
A special brunch or cocktail party treat

Barbecued seafood with truffled mash
Truffle Oil and truffle salt bring out add a richness to seafood in this dish

Once you have tried these truffle recipes out or used them for inspiration why not comment and let us know your favourite recipe for our truffle products.

The ones that inspire us we’ll send you a gift of one of our gourmet products to keep you busy in the kitchen till the fresh truffle season starts at the end of May.

Happy creating!

We get asked a lot if we take a break in summer. Hardly! Truffles may be harvested in winter but that doesn’t mean that things aren’t happening in the background.

While we can’t harvest truffles in summer we spend time tending the trends, weeding and trimming and keeping the Truffiere in tip top shape. For us a happy hazel nut tree means a happy growing truffle!

Summer is the time of year where we spend a lot of time waiting for the cool weather and the first appearance of the truffles.

Truffles – not to be confused with the chocolate truffle you may have eaten too much of at Christmas – are a group of valuable and highly sought-after edible species of underground ascomycetes. That means truffles are a fungus, just like mushrooms.

The French black truffle, the type that we cultivate at our Truffière in Manjimup, is the fruiting body of the fungus Tuber melanosporum. This fungus forms a symbiotic relationship with the roots of oak and hazel trees.

So it’s all those hazelnuts trees at our Manjimup property, currently green and lush in the summer that provide the home for our precious Australian truffles.

Truffles grow in the soil around trees that have the truffle mycelium growing on their roots. In some parts of the world, truffles occur naturally. In other areas, such as the cultivated plantation we have established in Manjiump, the host trees are inoculated with the truffle fungus and planted in what becomes known as a Truffière.

Several possible host trees for black truffles exist, including the common European hazelnut. The first truffles should appear the sixth or seventh year after planting. Truffle dogs are specially trained to locate them (by sniffing them out) during the winter.

Today, 12 years after it was planted The Wine & Truffle Co’s Manjimup Truffière now produces the largest quantity of truffles from one property in the Southern Hemisphere during the winter months, from late May to mid August 2009.

So as you can see, there is lots happening in the cycle of truffle growing all year round. We couldn’t take a break in summer as it’s a time of year that people love to visit Manjimup and we love to see our guests at the cellar door all year round.

Paul, Sandra and the cellar door team!