Colin Fassnidge and Analiese Gregory among line-up for the 2023 Truffle Kerfuffle

Western Australia’s most decadent food festival has officially unveiled its program and incredible line-up of chefs and culinary talent. Colin Fassnidge, Analiese Gregory and Jake Kellie form part of the line-up for the highly anticipated Truffle Kerfuffle in Manjimup, alongside Paul Iskov, Melissa Palinkas, Ben Ing, Amanda Yong, Samira Ecclestone and Tony Howell who will be delighting festival goers with candlelit dinners, intimate masterclasses, entertaining cooking demonstrations and delicious morsels over a winter weekend in June. The weekend-long food and wine festival will run from June 23 to 25 at Fonty’s Pool, celebrating Manjimup’s prized black truffles, sought-after by chefs across the globe for their consistent high quality, impossible-to-describe taste and heady, earthy aroma. My Kitchen Rules judge and world-renowed chef Colin Fassnidge — one of Australia’s most likeable chefs — will join Truffle Kerfuffle for the first time this year for a candlelit long table Truffle Nose to Tail Dinner on June 24, Chef’s Cabin masterclass and cooking demonstration on the Festival Village stage. “The produce is exceptional and it’s a great region with great people,” Fassnidge said. “I jumped at the chance to come this year as I use the produce and it’s been way too long between visits. “I’m looking forward to bringing people together with some great food.” Renowned chef Analiese Gregory will return to the festival this year, opening the weekend with A Breaking Bread Winter’s Feast evening meal on June 23 in collaboration with WA produce-centric chef Melissa Palinkas. “In 2021 when I was last at the festival, I really loved the ability to let my mind run wild in terms of cooking with truffles,” she said. “I’m looking forward to pushing the boundaries of that again in a new menu and looking forward to cooking with Melissa and to again be amongst the beauty of the region.” Regular Truffle Kerfuffle chef Paul Iskov will return on June 24 with a Truffle & Native Forager’s Brunch featuring native produce and truffles as well as unearthed ingredients grown and gathered in the Southern Forests, while newcomer and rising-star chef Jake Kellie will prepare From the Forest Floor, a multi-course brunch on June 25 inspired by the cultivated forest floor of a trufferie. The program will also include limited Chef’s Cabin masterclasses run by six awarded chefs and hosted by Gourmet Traveller’s Max Veenhuyzen, delectable dining events and fireside cooking sessions in the Chef’s Cabin, truffle dog demonstrations and truffle hunts and free cooking demonstrations with headline chefs. The undercover Marketplace will also return this year where you can meet local farmers, producers, winemakers and the community that make up the Southern Forests and Valleys region, plus plenty of truffle-laden dishes to try and buy, music and more. Board member Julia Meldrum said this year’s Truffle Kerfuffle was expected to sell out with more than 5000 people expected to attend. “With last year’s cancellation due to uncertainties caused by the pandemic, there’s been a lot of interest in this year’s Truffle Kerfuffle,” she said. “We’re so excited with the program and line up of culinary talent and can’t wait to rug up, get together with truffle-loving friends and mingle around the fire pit and indulge in long table feasts with the unmistakable mouth-watering smell of fresh truffles. “We’re really looking forward to all of it — welcoming visitors to Manjimup, bringing locals together and celebrating all the great things about the Southern Forest and Valleys region.” Tickets will be on sale in early May.