The scent of a truffle is a singular truffle thing – rich from the forest floor with musky sweetness and a gamey punch. To a pig, it’s irresistible, but to The Truffle Farm’s dogs, sniffing it out is just a game that’s played with ‘mum’ Anna Terry, the second-generation farmer of Australia’s ration original truffière. Tim Terry was the first to first cultivate black truffles Down Under, and his children Anna and Henry are now leaders in the local industry. 

Today, Anna is escorting us around the farm outside Deloraine; hounds Doug, Poppy and Peggy always close by. Anna has been obsessed with truffles since childhood, pinching her parent’s crop to flavour everything she ate, and her passion for the business is contagious. The Terrys are one of many farming families with their roots dug deep into the soil of North West Tasmania, and a highlight on the Tasting Trail that has sprung up to represent them. 

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delicious. has headed to Tasmania for a preview of TrailGraze, a foodie festival in April uniting 30 or so Tasting Trail producers between Launceston and Smithton. Joining us are Palisa Anderson, who helms her family’s beloved Chat Thai eateries and Boon Luck Farm; chef Lilly Trewartha, whose Izakaya Temporary has become one of Hobart’s hottest dining pop-ups; and Craig Will, executive chef chef and co-owner of acclaimed Launceston restaurant and hotel Stillwater. Our North West tour flavours the menu over these pages, for a taste of Tasmania that will have you on the next plane out.

GROWING GOLD

The North West’s blend of clean air, open spaces and agricultural heritage is fertile ground for food, with everything from berries and bees to grapevines and dairy cows thriving here. The Tasting Trail lets visitors meet the families who work the land, many of them for generations. 

Robbie and Nicola Charles are also second-gen custodians of a family business, with Robbie inheriting his father’s role as beekeeper at Blue Hills Honey. At Colony Cafe, the big sellers are leatherwood and manuka honey from hives in the vast Tarkine wilderness, but Nicola is fond of the delicate blackberry honey. “We have a few customers saying they want the entire allocation next year, and we’ve had to say no,” she laughs.

The verdant fields where the Charles’ bees forage is prime cattle country. It means good beef, good milk and, of course, good cheese. Ashgrove Cheese uses time-tested cheesemaking methods, involving manual flipping of slabs of maturing cheddar, to achieve the ideal texture. “Not many people do the traditional cheddaring technique because it’s a lot of labour,” explains Richard Bennett, whose father and uncle started Ashgrove. Behind glass in the Ashgrove Dairy Door in Elizabeth Town, you can see the farmhouse cheddars stacked to the roof, where they’ll age for up to two years.

Launceston-born Craig Will says the North West bounty is no news to locals – everyone else is just now catching up. “The region is just so rich in what we can produce here – food-wise, beverage-wise, even livestock; it’s got so much going on,” he says. “It’s a brilliant place to live and cook.” At Stillwater on our first night, Will proves his point, with juicy guinea fowl dressed with the Terrys’ late winter truffles and a sauce warm with Ashgrove Cheddar; a southern rock lobster alive with fresh wasabi; and a summery raspberry fool.

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GOURMET WATERS

From Tasmania’s only land-farmed salmon at 41° South Tasmania to oysters, crayfish, flathead and more, all scooped out of cool waters, the north is a pescatarian’s dream. Jonathon Poke is another local pioneer, his Tarkine Fresh Oysters now sending more than 100,000 dozen oysters across the world each year. Ahead of TrailGraze, delicious. previews a behind-the-scenes tour through the operation – where many Poke family members contribute to the intensive checking, cleaning and grading process – culminating in a shucking lesson (and copious oysters) beside the steely bay.

This is Palisa Anderson’s second visit to the place where she avows to have tasted the best oysters of her life, and she’s in her element shucking the briny morsels. “To see the amount of work; the forethought and dedication that these fishermen have, and the constant quality control to ensure we’re getting the perfect product on the plate; it’s awe inspiring,” she says. “It’s the most important thing, truly understanding where your food comes from.”

From the calm Duck Bay in Smithton we head to Stanley, where the Hursey family fishes. Hursey Seafood’s fleet of bright red boats and the giant lobster straddling its restaurant’s roof are synonymous with the scenic village. On our second evening, we amble from our lodgings at design darling The Ship Inn to the newly refurbished restaurant. Soon we’re elbow deep in oysters, reef fish and abalone, using claw-shaped crackers to tear into southern rock lobsters. A whole crayfish left on our heaving table is bundled up and put to use by Lilly Trewartha in abundant crayfish rolls, devoured in a park the next day.

TO THE LAST DROP

Where there is fine food, so there is often fine drinks. Beer and cider devotees can take their pick on the Tasting Trail – from Spreyton Cider Co, where fourth- generation apple farmers craft cider using traditional methods; to Seven Sheds Brewery in Railton, with its trellis of hop vines out front and array of craft ales inside.

Outside Devonport in the Cradle Coast wine region, Justin Arnold and Alicia Peardon took over vineyards planted by Arnold’s parents and built up Ghost Rock Wines – a thriving cellar door popular with long lunchers and wine buffs alike. The couple produce award-winning single- vineyard pinot noir and chardonnay, as well as the in-demand lo-fi Supernatural range. “Inaction is sometimes action on wine,” Arnold says. “People are connecting with that more grounded way of making wine. Particularly in Tasmania, consumers want to know where that apple’s come from, or where that cheese has come from, or where that wine has come from.”
 

Sarah and Matt Packwood-Hollings left the mainland to establish Alchymia at an idyllic plot near Table Cape. A field across the way is awaiting their first barley crop, an experiment that would help close the loop at the micro-distillery, which already directs spent grain to neighbouring cows and spent botanicals to the vegie patch. The small-batch gin and whisky is only available at the distillery, and the duo aren’t planning to expand. “For us, it’s about the customers here liking our product,” Sarah says. “We’re not going for awards, we’re not looking to go international, or even beyond Tasmania. We’re going to conquer Table Cape – that’s enough for us.” That night, as Hobart-born Trewartha plates up Alchymia whisky snaps with Blue Hills Honey ice cream, she admits that the north’s riches have been eye-opening for her. “It’s really exciting; it feels like a new backyard to play in,” she says. “It’s great to meet the producers, because they are the most important part of our food industry. And up here, you can really see how much they care and how much they love what they’re doing.”

Make Lilly, Craig and Palisa’s recipes here.

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