The wait is finally over. Truffle Kerfuffle has unveiled a delectable program and an incredible line up of chefs and culinary talent for Western Australia’s most decadent food festival held in the heart of Australian truffle country, Manjimup, from 23 to 25 June 2023.
With crisp winter air filled with the heady aroma of fresh truffle, Truffle Kerfuffle promises to take you on a journey of rediscovering the beautiful region of the Southern Forests and Valleys, from the ground up.
Held in the most prolific truffle growing region in the Southern Hemisphere, the festival is a true celebration of Manjimup’s prized black truffles, sought-after by chefs across the globe for their consistent high quality, impossible-to-describe taste and heady, earthy aroma.
Colin Fassnidge, Analiese Gregory, Jake Kellie, Paul Iskov, Melissa Palinkas, Ben Ing, Amanda Yong, Samira Ecclestone and Tony Howell will be delighting festival goers with candle lit dinners, intimate masterclasses, entertaining cooking demonstrations and delicious morsels over the winter weekend.
Tickets are on sale from early May and organisers encourage everyone to subscribe at www.trufflekerfuffle.com.
Dublin born Colin Fassnidge trained under esteemed French chef Raymond Blanc, then stayed in London for five years before heading to Australia in 1999, where he worked at some of Sydney’s most acclaimed restaurants including Banc and Est. He owned two-hatted restaurant Four in the Hand Dining Room for 11 years as well as the hatted 4Fourteen for seven years. He was named GQ magazine’s Chef of the Year 2013, released his first cookbook Four Kitchens in 2014, and in 2020 released his second, The Commonsense Cook. He is executive chef of Banksia Bistro, a survivor of the celebrity jungle and a judge on hit cooking show MKR.
Fassnidge, one of Australia’s most likeable chefs, joins Truffle Kerfuffle for the first time.
“I’m so happy to be attending the Truffle Kerfuffle event this year. The produce is exceptional and it’s a great region with great people. I jumped at the chance to come this year as I use the produce and it’s been way too long between visits! I’m looking forward to bringing people together with some great food,” Colin Fassnidge said.
Colin Fassnidge will create a multi-course dinner centred around his creative yet refined take on the nose-to-tail food philosophy, freshly harvested black truffle and diverse Southern Forests produce. One of the most anticipated events of the festival, the candle-lit long table ‘Truffle Nose to Tail Dinner’ on Saturday 24 June will be a paired with beautiful wines.
There’s a chance to get up close and personal with the cheeky Irishman at the Chef’s Cabin masterclass, and he’ll also do a cooking demonstration on the Festival Village Stage which is included with entry.
Renowned and awarded chef Analiese Gregory, former executive chef of Franklin in Hobart, returns to Truffle Kerfuffle. Originating from New Zealand, Gregory gained experience in some of Europe’s best kitchens including The Ledbury, Le Meurice, Mugartiz, and Michel Bras as well as five years at Quay working alongside Peter Gilmore.
“In 2021 when I was last at the festival, I really loved the ability to let my mind run wild in terms of cooking with truffles. It’s not often you have such a free rein to combine them in such copious quantities with other produce,” Analiese Gregory said.
“I’m looking forward to pushing the boundaries of that again in a new menu and looking forward to cooking with Melissa [Palinkas] and to again be amongst the beauty of the region.”
Opening the Truffle Kerfuffle weekend is ‘A Breaking Bread Winter’s Feast’ evening meal on Friday 23 June that brings together a creative partnership of Tasmania-based, ‘Wild Things’ chef Analiese Gregory and WA produce-centric chef Melissa Palinkas of Young George and Ethos in East Fremantle. Think fresh bread slathered with truffle butter, generous truffle shavings over warming winter dishes featuring Southern Forests produce that are matched with premium wines.
Esteemed Truffle Kerfuffle regular and first-time festival long-table chef is Paul ‘Yoda’ Iskov of Fervor, a roaming pop-up restaurant that harnesses locally sourced native produce to create culinary experiences you can’t get anywhere else.
Iskov boasts an outstanding resume of experience gained in highly acclaimed kitchens around the world including Vue De Monde, Amuse, D.O.M, COI, Pujol and Noma. He has a great love and respect for the land and endeavours to portray this through his food, locations, dedication and passion.
On Saturday 24 June, Iskov will prepare ‘Truffle & Native Forager’s Brunch’ featuring native produce and truffles as well as unearthed ingredients grown and gathered in the Southern Forests.
Truffle Kerfuffle welcomes Jake Kellie, former head chef of Burnt Ends (Singapore) and co-owner of Adelaide’s first open-flame restaurant Arkhé. Kellie was the recipient of the San Pellegrino World Young Chef of the Year Award for South East Asia, and his extensive resume includes time with culinary rock stars such as Heston Blumenthal (The Fat Duck, United Kingdom), Brett Graham (The Ledbury, Notting Hill), Scott Pickett (Estelle, Melbourne) and Matt Moran (Aria, Sydney).
Kellie will prepare the ‘From the Forest Floor’ multi-course brunch on Sunday 25 June inspired by the cultivated forest floor of a trufferie, a place of mystery where dark, fertile earth nurtures the umami-rich flavours and aromas of the black truffle.
Sharing recipes, stories and lots of tips and tricks, the limited Chef’s Cabin consists of six masterclasses, each run by an awarded chef. Truffle Kerfuffle Chef’s Cabin masterclasses will be hosted by Colin Fassnidge, Analiese Gregory, Melissa Palinkas, Paul ‘Yoda’ Iskov, Jake Kellie and Ben Ing who is the former head chef of the San Pellegrino’s World’s Best restaurant, Noma in Copenhagen, and co-owner of Alberta’s in Busselton. Hosted by Gourmet Traveller’s Max Veenhuyzen, the Chef’s Cabin masterclasses are renowned for personal connections, flowing conversations and include fine wine.
Truffle Kerfuffle is a true celebration of Manjimup’s “black gold”.
Besides delectable dining events and fireside cooking sessions in the Chef’s Cabin, there’ll be truffle dog demonstrations and truffle hunts, and free cooking demonstrations with headline chefs, along with pastry chef Amanda Yong who has worked at Cooee, Wild Flower, Rockpool and her own business, Tartes by Amanda. Baku-born Australian and 2018 MasterChef contestant Samira Damirova will be bringing a taste of Azerbaijan to the demonstration stage, which is hosted chef Tony Howell.
There’s more including the undercover Marketplace where you can meet local farmers, producers, winemakers and the community that make up the Southern Forests and Valleys region, plus plenty of truffle-laden dishes to try and buy, music and more.
Festival board member Julia Meldrum said that this year’s Truffle Kerfuffle is expected to sell out.
“With last year’s cancellation due to uncertainties caused by the pandemic, there’s been a lot of interest in this year’s Truffle Kerfuffle,” Ms Meldrum said.
“We’re so excited with the program and line up of culinary talent and can’t wait to rug up, get together with truffle-loving friends and mingle around the fire pit and indulge in long table feasts with the unmistakable mouth-watering smell of fresh truffles
“We’re really looking forward to all of it – welcoming visitors to Manjimup, bringing locals together and celebrating all the great things about the Southern Forest and Valleys region.”
Manjimup, in Western Australia’s Southern Forests, is the most prolific truffle growing region in the Southern Hemisphere, producing about 85 per cent of all black truffles grown in Australia and fetching prices of up to $3,000 per kilogram.
With truffles at the centre of the weekend festival along with the region’s prized produce from apples to potatoes and 50 other kinds of fruit and vegetable, Truffle Kerfuffle is the ultimate winter escape for food lovers.
Extend the escape with a truly luxurious and exclusive truffle experience with Beneath the Surface by Earn Your Vino, a satellite tour and opportunity for truffle lovers to immerse themselves in the Southern Forests and Valleys region and emerge with a deeper understanding of its wine, produce and truffles.
Now is the time to book a weekend away to recharge the soul in the country, surrounded by trees and rolling green hills, and connect with like-minded people at an authentic country festival.
From its initial beginnings in 2011, Truffle Kerfuffle (a not-for-profit community event) has grown into a highlight on the Australian tourism calendar and is on the to-do list of many a traveller and gourmand.
Truffle Kerfuffle is proudly supported by the Western Australian State Government through Tourism WA’s Regional Events Program, Fonty’s Pool and the Shire of Manjimup.
Date: 23 – 25 June 2023
Location: Fonty’s Pool, Manjimup, Western Australia