It's that time of the year again where every food fanatic locks themselves into a set menu with a $50-$100 truffle surcharge. Truffles are a food normally associated with luxury, excess and class. Only those with the most finely tuned palates can appreciate the fine shavings of this subterranean fungus (or underground mould, to us mere peasants).
But, that's no longer true. Seeing as restaurants will be operating at partial capacity for the foreseeable future, Robert Perrone from Premier Foods is now selling (and delivering) truffles around the Melbourne metro area for the whole truffle season. Depending on the truffle, you're looking at $1.50-$2 a gram. The truffles he is currently selling around town are from Ballarat, but will soon switch over to Manjimup from WA as the season progresses. In case you're wondering, Perrone is the real deal. Restaurants that he stocks truffle to include Ides, Amaru and Carlton Wine Room.
At those prices, you can live a bit of that scum-luxe, 'gram food lifestyle. Shave some truffle on some Indomie mi goreng, add it to your takeout pizza, sit it in a carton of eggs and turn it into truffle pasta or put some power behind some steak if you really want to be self-sufficient.
The way it works is, you DM Perrone on Instagram (technology really is a beautiful thing), arrange a time for him to come to you and he will turn up with a box of truffles that you can pick and choose from. Perrone will weigh the truffles and calculate the price in front of you. Simple as that.
The best news for truffle heads is that Perrone will be offering this service every season. Get ordering.