Truffle Melbourne Festival 2022
The annual Truffle Melbourne festival is one of the largest celebrations of truffles outside of Europe, and it’s back in a big way.
This time it’s taking over Half Acre for a day of truffled eating and drinking, ahead of the main weekend event at Queen Victoria Market.
Florentino chef-owner Guy Grossi is kicking things off with an Italian lunch that infuses truffles into a potato crisp panzerotti (fried savoury turnover), baccala mantecato (Venetian whipped salt cod), tortellini with fontina, chicken with truffled rice, and Sardinian honey and cheese pastries for dessert.
Then in the evening, Jesse Gerner of Bomba gives truffles a Spanish twist with a leek, manchego and truffle croquette, chicken liver parfait montadito (tapas-sized open-faced sandwich), baked hapuka with truffle butter, spatchcock with chicken truffle jus and chocolate cake with hazelnut and truffle cream.
Over the two-day market weekend, there’ll be cooking demonstrations by top chefs and a mock truffle hunt headed by hounds Trixie and Arrow.
Put your new cooking skills to the test and buy fresh truffles to take home from growers around Australia. Or if you’d prefer to leave the cooking to the experts, order truffle-infused dishes from food trucks and vendors across the market: there’ll be mac and cheese, paella, pizza, raclette, gnocchi, cannoli, bao buns, crepes and more.
The drinks will be truffle-infused too, with truffle Espresso Martinis alongside beers and wines.
The special lunch and dinner cost $235 each, while entry to the festival is free.
Additional reporting by Astrid Watt