News Noojee Truffle Festival

Yes, you can go full detective mode on a truffle hunt. Trained dogs lead the charge, part treasure hunt, part theatre.

Truffle hunts with Ashridge Truffle Farm include a guided walk through the truffière and meeting the dog experts (and experts-in-training). Follow the truffle hunting dogs in the truffière and then step into the Farmers Kitchen to sample warm, comforting bites while hearing stories of the farm, from soil to plate.

Truffle hunts are in hot demand and pre-bookings are essential. Jump onto the Noojee Truffle Festival website for bookings.

Menus across Noojee and surrounds are getting a glow-up with truffles turning up in all the right places. Across local cafés, pubs and dining venues, truffles will appear on menus throughout the festival, folded through warm, comforting dishes and shared around tables by the fire.

There are chef-led dinners, indulgent tastings and long lunches that might accidentally turn into longer lunches.

• 11 Jul: The festival opening signature event is a Truffle Temptations dinner at celebrated restaurant, Neeri Nuff. This carefully curated four-course dining experience showcases seasonal produce, elevated with this prized delicacy.
• 17 Jul & 24 Jul: Farmers Kitchen: Cooking with Truffles at Ashridge Truffle Farm. This farmer-led experience guides you through the essential principles of cooking with truffles. Make your own fresh truffle butter, watch a live demonstration of truffle hollandaise or truffle custard and enjoy guided tastings of seasonal truffle dishes.
• 18 Jul: Truffle Farmers Dinner at Toolshed Bar, Bistro & Cabins. Be welcomed with a truffle snack, then venture outside to watch a truffle dog demonstrate what a trained nose can do. Back inside, the chef and farmer take to the kitchen together to prepare a wood-fired truffle pizza, and you'll hear how that collaboration works from both sides. Dessert is an apple crumble with truffle custard, served by the fire.
• 25 Jul: Feast over Fire, a gala celebration, at Toorongo Valley Estate. This is a winter gathering designed to awaken the senses: the aroma of truffle featured across the menu, the theatre of open-fire cooking, and the magic of coming together in nature. As the afternoon unfolds, you’ll be immersed in a warm, vibrant atmosphere where food, fire, and community meet in a truly memorable way.
  
• 1 Aug: Florals and Truffles in the Forest at Ridge Road Blooms. Enjoy a welcome drink and truffle scones by the fire, then take a hands-on workshop with native blooms. Wander the flower farm and take home a finished flower arrangement all in a forest setting made for photography.

You can find truffle specials on the menus of Toolshed Bar, Noojee Hotel, Red Duck Cafe and Heritage Gifts and Cafe in Noojee, as well as Neeri Nuff Wine Bar and Cafe 3831 in Neerim South.

For bookings and more information, visit the full festival program on the Noojee Truffle Festival website

Between bites, there’s plenty of room to roam. Noojee in winter is peak mood: mist curling through the trees, trails calling your name, and just enough chill in the air to justify your next hot meal.

Take a wander through forest tracks, chase a lookout, or spin your wheels along a trail.

• The Neerim to Rokeby Rail Trail is part of the original Warragul to Noojee rail line. Pass through lush native forest through Crossover Regional Park between Rokeby and Neerim South.

• Head to Toorongo Falls Walk for a mossy rainforest romp that takes in two hefty waterfalls on the 1-hour loop.

• Marvel at the Noojee Trestle Bridge, the heritage timber bridge suspended in a canopy of mountain ash forest. It’s also the starting point of the Noojee Trestle Bridge Rail Trail (3km one way) landing you near the town centre.