Everyday I’m truffling: Majura Valley Truffle Experience
If the thought of heading to chilly Canberra in the middle of winter doesn’t appeal to you, I have one word for you my friends: truffles.
Follow your nose to the nation’s capital where the intoxicatingly aroma of these luxurious delicacies is celebrated with its very own celebration, The Truffle Festival, from June to August every year.
From truffle dinners to truffle markets and special dishes at a host of restaurants in the region, Canberra is the place to be to indulge in the not so humble truffle.
And it doesn’t get much better than the Majura Valley Experience, a three part truffle adventure that’s totally worth the 10am Sunday morning start.
First stop is The Truffle Farm, located an easy 15 minute drive from our home for the weekend, Hotel Hotel. Charismatic and extremely knowledgeable owner Jayson, has our group captivated as he runs us through an introduction to truffles and how he came to work in such a unique industry (I won’t spoil it for you but it’s an extremely interesting story!)
It’s then time to hit the paddock for our very own truffle hunt! We’re joined by Jayson’s mate Simba, a very cute chocolate Labrador with a nose for the good stuff.
Before we know it, he’s marking the spot, and participants try their hand at carefully digging up a truffle – “You break it, you buy it!” Jason jokes. This is the closest I’ll ever get to this much truffle goodness!
Stop number two is the nearby Mount Majura Vineyard. We sample their 2015 Chardonnay, 2014 Pinot Noir and a very special 1996 Chardonnay, alongside a generous serve of triple cream brie that’s been infused with Jason’s truffles. Indulgence never tasted so good.
That is, until we arrive at our final stop for the day, a three course truffle lunch at Pod Food. We’re nestled in a corner table in the sun on the enclosed balcony with our very own heater for added coziness.
The menu includes a glass of Mount Majura Vineyard wine with your choice of one of the courses, or an additional $20 for all three courses. Fresh sourdough with truffle butter kicks things off nicely and then it’s onto the entree of Jerusalem artichoke (picked fresh daily) soup with truffle crème fraîche and chestnut that has you wishing soup could always taste that incredible.
Dish of the day though goes to the Duck Boudin, best described as a duck sausage, served with gnocchi, parmesan, egg and pea. It’s the perfect combination of rich and fresh and is enhanced further with its matching wine, the 2015 Mount Majura Vineyard Touriga.
Wrapping up the truffle-fest is an Apple and Piallago Quince truffle rice pudding with local honey, almond and truffle ice-cream. It’s a little too sweet for my taste, but the truffle ice-cream is delicious.
We came, we saw, we truffled. And if you’re a truffle lover, the Majura Valley Experience is definitely one to add to your foodie hit list.
Nic was a guest of Visit Canberra.
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