The Folly Truffles, Ballandean - Taste Queensland’s first black truffles

Crisp winter nights, morning frosts and hot, dry summers have proved perfect growing conditions for Queensland’s first French black Perigord truffles at The Folly Truffles in Ballandean on the Granite Belt. Family-owned and run, Folly Truffles has 450 French oak trees where the truffles (edible fungi) can grow. It took a lot of attention to detail using the latest research and best practice before the first truffles were harvested in 2020. Each winter, Barry, the specially trained truffle dog, sniffs out the truffles. The site is marked, and when they are just ripe, the truffles are gently extracted from below the earth. Tastings, sales and truffle hunts are available at The Folly Truffles on weekends in truffle season (late June to late August). You can also join a small group on a two-hour Truffle Tour year-round. You’ll learn about truffles and then enjoy lunch with local cheeses at the Truffle Cottage while Folly Truffles owner Maple demonstrates how to cook a simple truffle pasta dish. Ballandean is just 20 km south of Stanthorpe, almost on the NSW/QLD border. Stanthorpe is a 2-hour 30-minute drive from Brisbane’s CBD via Warwick.