At Vic Road Kitchen, we love seasonal produce and you can’t get a more seasonal product than truffles!
The truffle season runs from May to August every year but the exact start and end times do vary. We love using Black Perigord Truffles from George’s Truffles, based in Riwaka. George and his team of specially trained dogs (Evee, Lego and Poppy) search out and harvest truffles during the Winter season. The process of finding and digging up these truffles can be lengthy which is why they command a good price.
What is a Truffle?
Truffles are essentially a fungus (in the same family as mushrooms) which grows underground on the roots of certain trees. They produce a strong smell which encourages wild animals to dig them up, eat them and excrete the spores to start the lifecycle again. It is this unique smell (and flavour) that also makes them a delicacy for humans!
Black Perigord Truffles
We source our Black Perigord Truffles from George’s Truffiére. Black Perigord truffles are one of the most sought after commercially available truffles and originates from France. George is super passionate about truffles and supplies many of the top restaurants in New Zealand.
Using truffles in cooking
The best way to use truffles in cooking is to shave it fresh over the finished dish! While truffle oils can be used as a substitute, our chefs love taking advantage of a seasonal product and using it fresh while we can.
We recommend shaving over a simple pasta or risotto (as we have on our menu) however you can also add to pizza, roast vegetables or your scrambled egg in the morning!
On the menu at Vic Road Kitchen
We currently have a delicious truffle risotto on the menu - we have kept the risotto simple to let the truffle shine! We also store our truffles in rice as they absorb the aroma and flavour!
Or opt to shave fresh truffle onto any of our menu items for just $28.
If you are interested in purchasing Black Perigord truffle from us (for personal use at home), please contact us with approximately how many grams you would like to buy. A small 10g truffle would be approximately $50.