In Europe it’s called black gold. Chefs all over the world feed a thriving black market where a good crop can fetch up to $3500/kilo. They’ll follow their nose to a truffle because this knobbly little mushroom has the power to transform a dish and stupefy the taste buds.

Forget fast cars and private planes, the truffle business is an expensive hobby. Luckily Australia’s truffle hunters have been hard at work, inoculating tree roots with European spores to the point where we’ve got a healthy industry and a stellar flavour profile.

So what do you do when you’re passionate about truffles? You start making truffle butter, and truffle omelettes, hey you’ll even try truffle tiramisu.

Well that’s what Sara Hinchey did, and now she wants to share her truffle box of tricks with other like-minded folk. She’s The Truffle Hound, and now runs four hour cooking classes where the truffle takes centre stage.

You can pick up the earthy, heady scent of a good truffle a mile away. Okay maybe not quite that far, but walking into The Truffle Hound’s cooking class is like stepping into a woody forest.  

Here, you’ll learn how to take butter to new levels. With a creamy truffle butter transform potatoes and white bread into a veloute and turn baked brie into a cheesy truffle bomb.

Forget kitchen gardens, big names like Annie Smithers and Shannon Bennett are planting their own trufferies. An afternoon with The Truffle Hounds will have you mentally ripping up the backyard and planting a truffery.

The Truffle Hound
Classes: $115 per person, 11am – 1pm
6^th, 7^th, 13^th and 14th July 2013
Food tech lab, Princes Hill Secondary College
318 Richardson St, Princes Hill
Twitter: @TruffleHoundOz