SCHEDULED EVENTS

Truffle Hunting Foray photo by Andrea Johnson

2009 Scheduled Events
We've planned a rich diversity of experiences for participants in the 2009 Oregon Truffle Festival. Our Grand Truffle Dinner features four of Portland's hottest young chefs, all of whom are shining stars in this internationally recognized culinary mecca. We are again donating partial proceeds from the Grand Truffle Dinner to Oregon culinary student scholarships.

For those of you anxious to get your hands in the food, we've added a new Master Chefs cooking package this year, in an afternoon and evening featuring James Beard Award winning chef Vitaly Paley of Paley’s Place Restaurant in Portland, Oregon.

Because so many of you requested it, we’ve brought back the Truffle Cultivation Seminar in 2009, which covers the basics of truffle biology, orchard establishment, orchard management, truffiere economics and other essentials to success with your new venture. The Truffle Cultivation Seminar is the starting place for anyone new to this industry.

And it wouldn’t be a Truffle Festival if we didn’t get you out into the hills and woods of Oregon’s glorious countryside, chasing truffle dogs on the hunt. This year’s Oregon Truffle Festival includes multiple experiences designed to introduce you to the wild and delicious world of the Oregon truffle.

Grand Truffle Dinner Have a truly extraordinary five course meal prepared by some of Oregon's most renowned chefs. The centerpiece of the Festival, the Grand Truffle Dinner is hosted by James Beard nominee and Eugene Restaurateur Stephanie Pearl-Kimmel. Our award winning guest chefs will present five courses of our glorious Oregon truffles paired with magnificent Oregon wines, ensuring the Grand Truffle Dinner will be the culinary highlight of the Willamette Valley’s growing epicurean experience. Held on Saturday evening, this elegant dinner includes local and seasonal ingredients chosen to highlight Oregon’s native truffles.  read more -->>

Truffle Grower’s Forum The Truffle Grower’s Forum is an exciting new addition to the Oregon Truffle Festival. The intent of the Truffle Grower’s Forum is to serve as the nexus of the truffle farming industry in North America as it develops, and is designed for those of you who are well-along in the establishment of your truffiere. Beyond the basics, the Truffle Growers’ Forum is your way to keep abreast of advances in the business, science and methods of truffle cultivation, and to make and maintain essential contacts within this new industry. A diversity of presenters are invited each year, and include international guests who will give North American truffle farmers an up-to-date pulse of the global industry.  read more -->>

Truffle Cultivation Seminar Prospective and existing truffle farmers have the opportunity to learn from international experts in this highly specialized field. For anyone contemplating the establishment of a truffle orchard, this is an essential event. read more -->>

Oregon Truffle Marketplace and Lecture Series Visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy truffle tastings and cooking demonstrations featuring the Oregon truffles, sample some of Oregon’s finest wines and local artisan foods, and learn more about Oregon’s wealth of wild-harvested bounty. Marketplace Admission includes a distinguished lecture series, and we challenge you to find a greater concentration of mycologists­specialists in the study of fungi­than in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. (No advance registration needed for the Marketplace, pay at the door.) read more -->>

Cooking Demonstrations Cooking demonstrations will be offered over the course of the weekend, exploring how to choose, buy and store truffles­and most importantly, how to bring out the rich flavor of this incredible delicacy with useful, elegant recipes.

Truffle Dog Demonstrations A good truffle dog can locate a truffle from 100 yards away and run directly to it­ the harvester knows that these truffles will be ripe and ready to use. Package holders, Cultivation Seminar and Growers' Forum participants will be treated to demonstrations and lectures from two professional truffle dog trainers: Jim Sanford of the Blackberry Farm Resort in Walland, Tennessee, and Pierre Rivard of Bergin University of Canine Studies in Sebastopol, California.

Truffle  Foray and Winery Tour and Luncheon Truffles can only be found in abundance in specific habitat types; places that harvesters have kept secret for decades. For many Festival participants, finding their own truffles was a highlight of their weekend. Our area of the Willamette Valley is also noted for its excellent wines. We’ll spend part of a day touring one of our region’s outstanding wineries, followed by a luncheon featuring Oregon truffles. The Foray and Winery experience are included with packages one, two and three.

Chefs and Restaurants Several restaurants in Eugene will feature truffles during the festival, and on Friday evening, Festival package holders will dine at one of several extraordinary local restaurants featuring multiple course truffle dinners. read more -->>