Truffle, the black gold

Calling me addicted to truffle is probably not enough. I've been saying for ages that I would shave truffle on top of everything but it took me 29 years to do it for real.

I'm not joking.

Everything started on a rainy afternoon in Perth, WA, more precisely after visiting the Mundaring Truffle Festival and leaving with 3 huge truffles. 

As you probably know truffles are not native to WA but have been grown in Australia in the south west in an area called Manjimup.

That night we planned to have dinner with our friend Gerrald Mitchell, the head chef of the Feral Brewing Company  and his wife.

wild mushroom &truffle risotto

truffle & butter rost chicken 

dessert covered in truffle

We spoiled ourselves, shaving mountains of the delicious luxury treat on wild mushroom risotto and on a superb roast chicken filled with truffle and butter. Somebody could have thought we lost our mind when we started to shave truffles on our desert but only because they didn’t know what was coming next.

When Mitch, who is a genius when it comes to food and a great expert if we are talking about beers, brought on the table a precious bottle  of  Les Trois Mousquetaires Porter Baltique .

We were all enjoying the Porter. It was just the perfect ending to a perfect dinner, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw Damian sniff the truffle, sniff the beer and then, with a gleeful smile, starting to shave the black gold in his glass of beer under three pairs of shocked eyes.

Believe it or not it worked. As you would approach the large tulip shaped glass with your doubting nostrils, the aroma would rape your nose and bring the flavor to your mouth. The first sip was just idyllic. You need to try to believe.

Salt

Pink Salt Lake, near Kalbarri WA

SALT. Let’s talk about it.

If your background is Italian you probably don’t need to keep reading this article otherwise don’t take  your eyes off from the screen because I’m going to reveal you the truth, nothing else but the truth about salt.

And the truth is … drum roll … salt is your friend!!! and the sooner you will understand this, the quicker you will start enjoying the pleasure, which brings to your table.

Let’s start from the basics. Probably somebody already told you that when you are cooking pasta you need to do it in a big pot with lots of water.

It may sound silly to you but before all the sponsorship story and the decision to migrate to Australia I came here like most people as a backpacker. Now, with all my love for my German  neighbors (I'm originally Italian and I need to tell you just in case my wog accent didn't jump out of the page gesturing wildly)    …  in the hostel where I was staying they used to cook pasta in a very small pot, guess what, with no salt and by the time that that glue was on their plate my Italian heart was suffering for the poor wheat product, abused like a soccer ball in the final championship.

Damian picking up some pink salt 

Surely is not their fault if their mum did not teach them all about the ALDENTE story…anyway we were talking about salt, our friend salt.

So long story short, when you are cooking pasta, no matter how many portion you are doing, remember that penne, spaghetti, fettuccine and all the other relatives, love to swim in lots of water. Especially remember about your friend salt and forgive all those cooking show which talk about a pinch or a teaspoon. You need a hand full! Just do it, let’s say that you are cooking 200 grams of pasta for two people and you are using an eight liters pot and you should be!

No matter how salty is your sauce, but if your pasta did not cook in enough salt and water, you’ll never taste the real flavor of your favorite Italiano.

Like in every healthy relationship be wise and do not exaggerate but I can guarantee that with a little experiment your guests will be licking their plates.

Yes we are food freaks

The passion for food brought us here, actually the passion for GOOD food.

More than 10 years of experience as a chef around the globe for Damian and being raised pretty much amongst pots and dishes my self couldn’t lead us somewhere else.

 Then the dream: living in this beautiful country Australia and the long quest for residency.

Everything started 4 years ago, when we landed from two different side of the world.

Damian was in New Zealand, working his ass off in a famous café, I was in Italy working as a teacher and helping out my mum in our family restaurant.

We met in Port Douglas and from the start we realised to have something in common… yes we needed to admit that we are two food freaks.

When eating becomes not a first survival necessity but an orgasmic experience you know that every single thing that poses on your tongue needs to be just perfect.

 Also when family and friends start telling you that is insane that your first though when you open your eyes is what to cook for tea you may have to be honest with yourself and accept your “gourmet food addiction” as part of your being.

People say that when you know you have a problem you are half way to the resolution and that was the true for us.

Stay tuned for home made recipes and reviews of places we went back for seconds!