Riwaka truffle grower George Wilkinson, hit by last Friday's floods in the Nelson Tasman region, hand-delivered his product to restaurants this week, including Auckland's Esther. Photo / Dean Purcell
Riwaka truffle grower George Wilkinson, hit by last Friday's floods in the Nelson Tasman region, hand-delivered his product to restaurants this week, including Auckland's Esther. Photo / Dean Purcell
Torrential rain and flooding at a Tasman truffle orchard that supplies some of the country’s top restaurants have not stopped gourmands getting their seasonal fix.
Photographs showing swamped ground at George’s Truffles in Riwaka had luxury fungi aficionados fearing the worst.
But the truffiere’s 76-year-old co-owner George Wilkinson says whilethis week’s supply was down about 30%, chefs’ demands were able to be met.
Wilkinson flies north weekly, hand-delivering the product (average cost: $1500 a kilogram) to restaurants in Auckland and Wellington.
He said last Friday’s rainfall was the most concentrated he’d experienced at the truffle orchard, which was established in 2009 and had its first harvest in 2016.
“I haven’t seen it like that before. We had about 38 millimetres in an hour, followed by two more hours of around 25mm. It just turned these little streams that are near the orchard into raging rivers.”
Silt and debris from neighbouring forestry operations were an added problem.
“I was standing there, watching these freaking logs come down. It was incredible, just the power of the water, and there was so much of it.”
Flooding at George's Truffles, Riwaka, when a state of emergency was in place in the Nelson Tasman region.
A small stream bursts near the orchard at George's Truffles, Riwaka, during the most concentrated rainfall the property owner has experienced.
Between the night of Friday July 11 and the following Saturday morning, up to 200mm of rain was reported to have fallen in some areas of the Nelson Tasman region. A state of emergency was declared, and around 100 homes were evacuated.
At the start of this week, more than 800 properties were to be assessed for damage and on Wednesday, 41 roads remained closed.
Meanwhile, Nelson and Tasman mayors announced the region was formally entering a transition period on Thursday, moving from a state of emergency into a recovery focus, following the impacts of severe weather experienced in June and July.
Wilkinson is thankful that only about 10% of the truffle farm he operates with his partner, Pip, was directly hit by floodwater, but ongoing high rainfall in the lead-up to the weather event had already affected harvest quality – truffles with any sign of rot were unsaleable.
“We’re still getting truffles, but it’s a very much smaller amount.”
Truffles develop underground on tree roots. Dogs are used to find the fungi, and a flag is planted to mark the spot for human harvesters.
“[The floodwater] knocked over a few markers, but Serge, who brings the dogs through, registers them on his phone as he goes. He’s logged them, so we still know there’s a truffle there.”
Sodden ground had made unearthing the luxury product more difficult.
“The rain compacts the soil, and when Pip is trying to harvest, she digs a hole and it just fills up with water.”
Executive chef James Laird of Esther Restaurant, at the QT Hotel, discusses truffles with George Wilkinson in Auckland this week after floods hit the grower's Riwaka property. Photo / Dean Purcell
In New Zealand, truffle season runs from about May to September, depending on the variety. Wilkinson said his orchard was almost at the end of its commercial supply for 2025, and was on track to have delivered around 200kg of black perigords. The two heaviest truffles harvested on the Riwaka property this year weighed around 500g each.
New Zealand’s high-end dining scene is currently in full fungi mode. Multiple restaurants are offering “truffle supplements” at up to $25 per serve of shaved, A-Grade product.
In Auckland this week, Wilkinson’s black perigords were destined for at least three special events with Esther, Spiga and Paris Butter restaurants all advertising multi-course, truffle-themed menus. Anticipated dishes included truffles with the likes of a crayfish congee, pāua and pig trotter ravioli and roast banana ice cream.
Kim Knight is a senior reporter on the New Zealand Herald’s lifestyle desk. She hold a masters in gastronomy and has been a restaurant critic for Canvas magazine.
