Black is the new green as truffles sideline avocados in Australia’s cafe culture

Appetites are growing for truffles – and not even the cost of living crisis can halt the momentum – with a Western Australian farmer up-ending how the fungus is procured.

A dog sniffs out truffles at Truffle Hill farm in WA without fear of being poisoned.

In the rolling wooded hills of northern Italy, a police dog darts between oak and poplar trees, nose firmly on the ground.

The dog is searching for poison baits to save fellow canines from the deadly turf wars that have become a blight on Italy’s truffle season. The secretive Italian truffle community fiercely guards its hunting grounds, to the point where some chefs and restaurateurs are unable to say where exactly the fungus, which can be worth hundreds of dollars, comes from.

It is a world away from Manjimup, a small town located about an hour and half’s drive east of Margaret River in Western Australia.

Here, truffle farmer Michael Lowe proudly advertises where he harvests black Périgord truffles, and his team of four hunters and up to 12 dogs can do so without fear of stumbling on poison baits.

It is a point of difference that has captured the attention of Michelin Star chefs across the biggest truffle markets in Europe, and keeping Lowe busy, with him also supplying restaurants in the US and Asia.

He has up-ended the traditional method truffles are procured – often at the side of roads where lumpy brown paper bags are exchanged amid hushed voices as seen in the documentary The Truffle Hunters – to cast a spotlight on provenance and make a name for himself as being a reliable and consistent supplier.

“In Australia, we have really been a disrupter of the way truffles are done worldwide,” Lowe tells The Weekend Australian.

“It’s very similar to how we disrupted the wine industry where we work on varieties rather than houses – you know those secret blends and secret spices – to celebrate provenance.

“In Spain, which is the largest exporter of the black truffle, tuber melanosporum, their truffle was going across into France and being touted as a produce of France. A single brand there might have 600 or 700 growers supplying into them. Whereas in Australia, we are a small industry … and you’re dealing with people who own their place and get their hands dirty.”

Two of Truffle Hill farm’s trusty truffle dogs with produce they have sniffed out.

Australia exported about nine tonnes of truffles last year at around $2500 a kilogram. It’s a market currently worth about $15m.

This compares with Europe’s chef grade harvest totalling up to 80 tonnes. But Australian farmers are quickly catching up, with estimates of exporting up to 40 tonnes in the next five to eight years.

During that time, the global truffle market is set to explode, rising in value from $US350m to about $US600m by 2028. And in the early 2030s, it set to be a near $US1bn industry.

“There are certainly more plantings. There are trees that were planted 10 to 14-15 years ago that are coming into (truffle) production now,” Lowe says.

And not even the cost of living crisis can halt the momentum. While Australian producers export about 85-90 per cent of their truffles, the local market is running hot, with the exception of corporate gifting. Even former Cricket Australia chairman Wally Edwards has got in the act, developing Oak Valley truffle farm, also located in Manjimup.

Call it pandemic revenge spending but in many respects, truffles have become the new smashed avocado as cafes from Sydney to Melbourne and Perth incorporate the fungus into dishes as simple as scrambled eggs.

“In 2017-2018, we saw the emergence of the care cafe culture,” Lowe says.

“We have one cafe in Sydney, Three Williams, where you’d go on the weekend and there would be a line around the corner and all you could smell was coffee and truffle and it was fantastic.

“People are still going out for breakfast. Breakfast and brunch has become a social thing. And if you’ve already decided to go out for breakfast, you’re probably going to spend an extra couple of dollars on truffle on your eggs. That’s part of the enjoyment of the whole experience.”

Mushroom with scrambled eggs and shaved truffle at Three Williams in Sydney. Picture: Jenifer Jagielski

For Lowe it couldn’t come at a better time. He says the past two truffle seasons have been “pretty horrible” with pandemic travel restrictions shutting down the number of commercial passenger aircraft, in which he relies on to send his truffles – which have a shelf life of about 14 days – to international markets.

“This year it is normal and the demand is there. Markets are responding pretty well around the world.”

Asian markets in particular are developing a taste for truffles, with Australia’s closer proximity to the region viewed as an advantage. But developing exports in Asia is still far from simple. Relations with China are only starting to thaw after Beijing targets Australian farm commodities from beef and barley to wine and lobster after former prime minister Scott Morrison spearheaded an inquiry into the origins of Covid-19.

Then each market in Asia has its own nuances that businesses must be mindful of.

To this end, Lowe turned to Asialink – a think tank located at the University of Melbourne to promote better relations with Australia’s northern neighbours – for advice. He was even prepared to change Truffle Hill’s logo, which includes a dog, to gain access to Asia’s burgeoning middle class.

“We had real concerns. In some cultures in Asia dogs are dirty and vermin. And feedback (from Asialink’s research) was our dog looked a bit skinny. So what we have got in our current logo is a dog that now has a gold collar, a bit of bling, and has a little bit more weight.

“I was something that was big in terms of our branding. I think a lot of Australian brands go ahead and will be very anglicised in what they do and don’t think about the impact of what their wording or other things will have in a market.”

A dog sniffs out truffles at Truffle Hill farm in WA

It comes as an Asialink poll of 200 organisations found that 86 per cent believe Australian businesses are still missing out on opportunities in Asia, despite increased government-led engagement.

Asialink Business chief executive Leigh Howard said Asian markets have never been more compelling but Australian businesses can’t afford to be complacent.

“There is a growing affluent class across Asia, and our international competitors increasingly want a slice of the action,” Mr Howard said.

“Despite the high-profile trade and business delegations we’ve witnessed in the last 12 months, the business community thinks we have a long way to go in realising our full potential with Asia, and they are right.

“Increasingly we need to approach the growing opportunities presented by a rising Asia with the skills and understanding to achieve the best commercial outcomes. Without sufficient investment in becoming Asia-capable, the danger is that businesses will achieve substandard outcomes – or no outcomes at all. Being underprepared and learning how to do business after you’ve arrived quickly makes a market visit an expensive endeavour.”