The truffle season is almost over and if you haven’t been on a truffle hunt yet, I have one to recommend to you. Sure, it comes with a price tag but one of the main reasons why I signed up was because Damian Brabender was the chef who was going to be cooking us a 6 course truffle lunch.
Truffle Hunt & Cook Lunch ($180.00 pp) includes truffle hunt with farm owner Jayson and his team of highly trained truffle dogs as well as a six course truffle lunch menu created by Chef Damian Brabender with matching local wines. 
Even though I was mainly interested in the food component, it didn’t stop me from immensely enjoying myself watching Simba the truffle dog do his thing so skillfully and listening to Jayson’s amusing story about how he came to training dogs and eventually owning the truffle farm.
Simba sniffed out the truffle, now it was our job to carefully dig it out.
We (well Simba) found a hefty truffle nugget worth approximately $500 within minutes of starting our hunt. 
After a few successful harvests, we headed back to the kitchen where Damian had started cooking up a storm.
We were swiftly given beverages and a hot cauliflower and truffle soup to warm us up. This was so smooth and creamy, the perfect winter warmer.
Bread and truffle butter.
Truffle risotto with an egg. I love how creamy and rich this dish was, I really wanted five more.
I love truffle butter and it goes so well with scallops.
Damian (along with volunteers) showed us how easy it was to ‘whip up’ truffle mayonnaise.
We all swooned over the steak topped with truffle infused jus.
One of the greatest ways of having truffles is having truffle brie!
TimmyC asked if I would like some crackers with my cheese… Cheeky.
We ended our lovely experience with a chocolate ‘truffle’ a truffle ice cream encased in chocolate and cocoa.
The food in short was fantastic, I’ve always been a fan of Damian’s work. Not only did we get a 6 course lunch, we got something better than that- an appreciation of truffles, dismissing the price tag associated with truffles because you don’t need much to make a big impact and knowledge of how to get the most out of your truffle.
I really enjoyed the whole experience; I found Damian and Jayson really charming and funny, they really get you to join in on the conversation and the experience.
See their other events like breakfast and truffle hunts on their website.
Venue: The Truffle Farm Canberra
Address: 23 Mount Majura Road, Canberra, ACT 2609
Phone: 0400 483 082
Website: http://www.thetrufflefarm.com.au/
Opening dates: June – August
9:00am – 5:00pm Saturday – Sunday
One of my friends who has never been to an IKEA store before asked me ‘what is the big deal about IKEA?’; this made me ponder and I didn’t know where to start. I wanted to tell her that when it opens in Canberra on Monday it will be the most sustainable store in Australia using LED lighting, they have just under 2000 solar panels, they source sustainable salmon as well as becoming the first major retailer to source 100% of its cotton from more sustainable sources, just to name a few things. I also wanted to mention their charity initiatives supporting educational project run by Save the Children and UNICEF. Instead, I explained that most people want to improve their home and their personal spaces and IKEA helps people to do that regardless of socioeconomic backgrounds. Despite people saying that everyone’s houses will look the same, there is so much choice and room for personalising, I don’t think that would be the case.
Unlike other IKEA stores, Canberra’s store is single level and will be the first in Australia to have a ‘IKEA Cafe’ with coffees, cakes and some savoury options available. The IKEA restaurant itself has a 380 seat capacity and I would consider the whole menu to be a bargain and that’s not just comparing it to Canberra prices!
The Market Hall is one of my favourite places to browse, even if my kitchen is full. IKEA plans to run workshops so customers see first hand how to use the products and produce. 
On top of all this, the IKEA Canberra store will have a free child minding for the children aged 3 – 10 that are toilet trained. Småland (pronounced small land for those who don’t speak Swedish) is available to parents to are on site (in store or in the car park) for maximum 1 hour a day, they have a capacity for up to 45 kids at a time with activities including colouring in, stadium seating for the ‘cloud’ tv and a ball pit which is 80cm deep. Be aware that this is a really popular facility and long wait times might apply. See the additional information below taken from their website:
IKEA launched ‘LATTJO’ their play collection that inspires everyone to play more together – everyday. I am tempted to everyone a snail hat this Christmas.
With kids and their parents set as a first priority, IKEA have awesome parent rooms, the restaurant area has microwaves for warming milk, kids cutlery and even a small children’s play area so the parents get some peace while they’re eating Swedish meatballs.
Fergus McGhie the promotions and marketing manager for Mount Majura Vineyard, is explaining how Canberra and the surrounds has ideal conditions in to grow Shiraz and Riesling as they love the big temperature fluctuations that we experience. He also tells us that the winery consists of four full-time wine fanatics who love experimenting with combinations of grapes to produce amazing wines which regularly win awards.
All the local humans sit down to feast on truffled brie and a variety of wine while getting a chance to talk with the local producers.
TALES OF A CONFECTIONIST 