There’s something special about Perth winters when the air is crispy cool and the skies are clear and blue. It makes you want to pull on your jacket and boots and go for a big adventure outdoors. And that’s what thousands of us did, coming together against a backdrop of jarrah woodland and music, at the 2010 Mundaring Truffle Festival.

“Dictionnaire de Cuisine”, a cookbook published in 1836, lamented “man has measured the skies, discovered vehicles, invented the steam engine, but he still cannot make a truffle grow.” This sentiment was surely not echoed by the festival partners, The Wine & Truffle Co, The Shire of Mundaring and The Loose Box Restaurant, who would’ve been very pleased with this year’s bumper crop of French black truffles freshly harvested from their rich underground beds in local Manjimup.

Over 30 000 visitors traveled to the picturesque Mundaring hills region, just 45 minutes from Perth Western Australia, on Saturday 31 July and Sunday 1 August. This year’s program offered gastronomic treats for the curious gourmand and health conscious alike.

The Slow Food Perth’s Food Finders marquee featured apples, wheat and potatoes explaining that although these are common foods they have uncommon histories. Kids were encouraged to get their hands dirty and dig for spuds, learn about the history of the apple and identify different varieties. They heard the story of wheat, learnt about garden tools and their use in the garden, and finished off with a lesson on how to make their own pasta from flour and eggs.

Foodbank WA, whose mission is to create ‘an Australia without hunger’ distributes food and grocery industry donations to welfare agencies. They also run the Food Sense and School Breakfast programs ensuring over 37 000 school students in metropolitan, rural and remote areas of WA receive a nutritionally wholesome breakfast each week. Qualified nutritionist, Stephanie McFaull showed the kids how ‘cool’ nutrition can be with fun-filled interactive cooking workshops.

There were demonstrations and books for home cooks wanting to know more about preparing nourishing family meals, eager to taste fresh food away from sanitized supermarket aisles. Chefs, restaurateurs and growers participated in wine and food panel discussions in the Food for Thought marquee. Topics included the benefits of buying seasonal local and regional produce, whole food and organic farming. And passionate foodies joined in the world’s longest truffle lunch and truffle master class with top chefs, Alain Fabregues, Russel Blaikie and Emmanuel Mollois. Of course, the biggest crowd puller was the truffle dog demonstrations. Everyone was captivated by the cheeky personalities of these working dogs, who are clearly well trained and lovingly cared for by their owners.

After a day of foraging it was time to return home inspired and happily exhausted – what a wonderful way to celebrate eating and enjoying healthy food.

About the author: Yvette Canet-Gibson is the Communications Manager for Josh Byrne Associates