Family on the hunt for buried treasure

The harvesting of black Perigord truffles began on Sunday at one of the state’s newest truffle orchards – or truffiere – a second serious season marking a turning point for its ambitious owners.

Ian and Katherine St Jack are starting to see production ramp up at Pipers Brook Truffles, about 50 minutes northeast of Launceston, and they have recently opened a beautiful new multi-purpose truffle-tasting and function room, with a commercial-grade kitchen and large open-plan dining/lounge area.

Looking out through huge windows to the picturesque farmland beyond, it’s the perfect place to experience the heady aroma and taste of the highly valued fungi. 

The St Jacks have also teamed up with nearby House of Arras winery for an even broader opportunity to experience two of the state’s world-beating exports, with visitors able to see a truffle hunt first hand and then have a winemaking masterclass and enjoy a wine tasting.

Last year all of the truffle tours and truffle/wine experiences sold out.

On the property there are 600 French oak trees (Quercus ilex) covering two hectares, and they’re now producing truffles for the third consecutive year, with each harvest yield up 200 per cent compared to the year before.

The truffles are high quality and beautifully round in shape, just how the top chefs of the world like them.

It’s a reward for years of hard work and patience for the St Jacks, who left their home near Manjimup in Western Australia in 2015, determined to establish an agri-tourism business in Tasmania.

Katherine had been training as a paediatrician and Ian was working away four weeks at a time on a mine site when a holiday in Tasmania inspired them to find a better way to live.

“I grew up on a sheep farm and while that’s nothing like truffle farming, agriculture and living on the land is familiar to me,” Ian said.

“We wanted to establish a lifestyle property where we could work, earn a living and raise a family and we looked at various locations – 12 properties in fact – within an hour of Launceston, at one point toying with the idea of a vineyard.

“This Pipers River location suited us best due to its soil type, having three dams for irrigation and it’s the ideal distance from both the city and the beach.”

The St Jacks purchased the former cattle property in 2017 and flew back and forth to get it prepared – picking up rocks, fencing, irrigation, line and row marking, tree planting – family, friends and neighbours all pitched in to help.

Two plots were planted with inoculated oak trees sourced from a nursery in Victoria in the winter of 2019.

The St Jacks have worked hard ever since to nurture the trees and establish the infrastructure, processes and a farmgate business that appeals to tourists and locals alike.

During this busy time of getting the truffle farm off the ground, two little girls, Audrey and Clara, have come into their lives, and they are thriving in the idyllic rural playground.

The first truffles plucked from the soil three years ago were a surprise find – the eruptions spotted while the St Jacks were taking a walk with Lee’s parents and sister.

It sparked the hasty development of a tasting room in an old hay barn, the training of their kelpies Diego and Maple and a busy year of learning and preparation for the 2024 season.

“We have a business where we as a family can look after it on our own. That’s our business model so there’s not many overheads and being a new truffle orchard means we have the benefit of long-term industry knowledge,” Ian said.

“While the national yield has exploded with the establishment of WA truffle farms it means we must take advantage of opportunities in the northern hemisphere and sell into the off-seasons in places like South Africa and South America.

“We are not here to produce high volumes, but make a living in combination with other income streams – whether that’s tourism, value-added products or finishing cattle.”

The truffle harvest, tours and tastings keep the couple busy in the depths of winter and outside of that, small events such as corporate functions and weddings for up to 25 people and renting the accommodation keeps the money coming in along with sales of freeze-dried truffle products such as truffle salt, oil and risotto rice.

After the busy three months at the height of the truffle season, there’s no respite, with pruning and aeration of the soil plus inoculation of a truffle “slurry” back around the trees to encourage truffle growth.

Irrigation over the past two years has been relentless with ongoing dry conditions meaning they have irrigated right up to May both this year and last year.

Ian and Katherine are putting the finishing touches on the truffle menu for this season and are excited to have a lovely new room for intimate groups of up to eight people to discover the unique qualities of black truffles.

From cauliflower and jerusalem artichoke soup with truffle-inflused cream and hazelnuts, to a two-cheese truffle toastie and a truffle-infused Portugese tart, the truffle menu has been a winner in the past and among the new offerings there will be pasta dishes and truffle icecream – perfectly acceptable when consumed in front of the roaring fire.

“Ian and I both love to cook, using local seasonal produce, most of which we grow ourselves,” Katherine said.

“We do the meal prep and service ourselves and this will be our first season with weekly tours and that’s going to be exciting as well as a challenge with the girls."