Trufflin’ with Paul West

Posted on 28 June, 2018

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to cook alongside former host of River Cottage Australia, Paul West, this weekend is your best chance to make those dreams a reality.

On Saturday the chef-turned-sustainable-farmer will be cooking up a storm at Westfield Woden for their annual Truffle Festival Market Day, hosting a series workshops including a cooking demonstration, tips on truffle infusion techniques, and a Q & A.

During the cooking demonstrations, Paul will cook some of his signature truffle dishes, including a mouth-watering cauliflower and cheese dish with truffle shavings.

“If you just shave even a tiny bit of truffle, it will give off this incredible perfume that it’s famous for,” he says. “I’m sure the smell will be wafting through the centre on the day.”

Paul tells us he’s looking to keep the cooking demonstrations as inclusive as possible, which is not surprising given his laidback attitude to food (an approach which won audiences over in all four seasons of his TV programme River Cottage Australia, which aired on Foxtel and SBS from 2013–2016.)

“I don’t want be just cooking while everyone sits and watches me, I want the opportunity for people to get involved and really immerse themselves in the experience,” Paul says.

“What I’m trying to get across is that truffles don’t have to be this mysterious ingredient—they can be very expensive but you don’t have to be a high-flying chef to cook with truffles, you can do it at home—and a little goes a long way.”

His own truffle dish of choice?

“I love a good pan-fried cheese truffle toastie, with lots of butter on the bread and some nice cheese—it’s a real treat,” he says.

“That kind of dish is one example of how you can really make truffles quite casual.”

He applauds Canberra’s role in the truffle industry, ever-growing thanks to our frosty winter conditions.

“Canberra has the perfect climate for truffles, and I have a lot of respect for the producers who grow them, because it’s not like putting a carrot in the ground, watering it, and three months later pulling out a carrot—it’s such a long game, and things can go pear-shaped in the cultivation,” he says.

“For Canberra to be putting itself on the map for truffles, is a great asset to the area.”

Along with Paul’s workshops, Westfield Woden’s Truffle Festival Market Day will include a mouth-watering line-up of events; with wine pairing masterclasses, local market stalls, wine bars, kids activities, food sampling and live music.

“I really hope people get amongst it, and build truffle season up as an annual celebration,” Paul says.

“It’s one of the highlights of the culinary calendar, and something that literally only comes around once a year—it’s a fantastic silver lining on the winter cloud.”

Paul West will be on stage for the following sessions

• 10 am: Cooking Demonstration with Paul West
• 12 pm: Truffle Infusion techniques with Paul West
• 2 pm: Cooking Demonstration with Paul West
• 4 pm: Paul West Q&A and meet and greet

the essentials

What: Truffle Festival Market Day at Westfield Woden
Where: Westfield Woden, Keltie Street Phillip
When: Saturday 30 June 2018, 9 am – 5 pm
How much: Free entry
Web: hercanberra.com.au/event/westfield-truffle-market-day

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