Hunting truffles in the heaven of Hawke's Bay

Robin Daines (left), of Cairns in Queensland, gets helpful advice from Wendy Hutchins of Puketapu grower Sacre Monte. Photo / Ian Cooper

It's enough to make one cry.

That's just part of the emotion lodge proprietor and chef Gary Grootelaar sees each time he and wife Dietske treat guests to the truffle experience they have put on for the FAWC festival each winter for the last four years.

Proprietors of The Manse, an exclusive lodge developed in a century-old former Anglican minister's home on what was part of Maraekakaho Station, they run four separate Truffle Heaven days weekends during Hawke's Bay food and wine festival FAWC each June in a unique partnership with growers Kees van Munckhof and Wendy Hutchins, of Sacre Monte Truffles, Puketapu.

Guests start the day with a truffle hunt at Sacre Monte, warmed-up with hot chocolate and rum at the truffiere, a rundown on the history, varieties and harvesting of truffles, followed by hunting and foraging, topped-off with lunch back at The Manse for a four-course truffle lunch – black truffles in each course, truffle creme brûlée for dessert - limited to eight people on each day, because that's the most that can be seated at the table at the two-room lodge.

On Saturday among the guests was Robin Daynes, who's from Cairns in Far North Queensland, and on Sunday another from Bannockburn in Central Otago, up especially for the day, back for more after being so taken by the experience first time around in 2019.

It's all driven by chef Grootelaar, whose European experience seems to revolve around the truffles season in Northern Italy, each October and mirroring other harvest festivals around the World. One of them is the Alba festival, home to the most-prized white tuber truffles.

There is even a "university" to train the sniffer-dogs necessary to locate the truffles in forested areas, and anything up to a metre beneath the surface, and there are universities still trying to figure what triggers the growth of truffles.

Munckhof says no one knows what triggers their growth, but they use a bit of calcium phosphate and wait for the results.

Aroma and size are what counts, and perhaps the most memorable moment all-round was two years ago when the visitor from Central Otago struck the Puketapu gold (aka "a very nice truffle").

"It brought tears to her eyes," both Grootelaar and van Munckhof recalled. The aroma, says Munckhof, made everyone stand up and take notice.

There were some anxious moments in the weeks beforehand. Original sniffer Bear had passed away, and "Houdini" canine Teddy departed in a misadventure just three weeks before the first of the Truffle Heaven experiences earlier this month.

Van Munckhof and Hutchins say a friend's dog, Chika, has proven a more than handy substitute at short notice, while they train young Rua for truffle duty.