Registration Opens for 7th Oregon Truffle Festival

EUGENE, Ore. — Food lovers are invited to celebrate the glory of a Pacific Northwest delicacy and re-discover American cuisine and culture at the seventh annual Oregon Truffle Festival, Jan. 27 through Jan. 29, 2012, in Eugene, Oregon.

Jim Sanford and Tom of Blackberry Farm during 2010 truffle dog training seminar Photo credit: Charlie Lefevre

Truffle enthusiasts will bring it all back home this year with a celebration dedicated to the Oregon truffle, the American table and the sense of community that is built when we gather together to share in fine cuisine. Oregon’s finest chefs will bring traditional American cooking techniques to bear on the earthy delicacy, creating a culinary fusion that commemorates the region’s truffles and the country’s food culture.

“Our mission for this year’s festival is to connect with our food and with one another,” said Leslie Scott, Oregon Truffle Festival managing partner. “Our hope is to bring people together to celebrate this most evocative and delicious of local ingredients.”
The first event of its kind in North America, the Oregon Truffle Festival will celebrate native truffles — from their hidden source in the forest to their glory on the table. Participants will be immersed in all things truffle — from tasting to touring to hunting this Oregon delicacy.

For the past six years, the weekend festival has enticed and delighted truffle enthusiasts, chefs, foodies, truffle hunters and truffle growers with tastings, tours, workshops and speakers from all over the world. Last year’s festival garnered a place on Livability.com’s list of Top 10 Food Festivals in America.

This year’s festival is inspired by Molly O’Neill’s book, “One Big Table: A Portrait of American Cooking.” O’Neill previously worked as a food writer for The New York Times and is a James Beard Award-winning author. She wrote the book to debunk the myth that American home cooking had been destroyed by the accessibility to fast food. It features a collection of recipes and stories from people across America who still believe in the generative powers of eating together and the true meaning of “soul food.” O’Neill reminds readers of the importance of remaining connected to the food we put on our tables, something that has always been a central theme of the Oregon Truffle Festival.

Back again this year, by popular request and overwhelming demand, is the Truffle Dog Training Seminar. A select few dogs and their owners will learn how to sniff their way to truffle treasure in the beautiful forests of the Pacific Northwest. The seminar will be taught by Jim Sanford of Blackberry Farm in Tennessee and by Glenn Martyns of Bergen University of Canine Studies in California.

Participants at the Truffle Festival can also take part in workshops on a number of subjects, including learning how to grow and cultivate truffles and how to select and prepare both the black and white Oregon truffles. On Saturday there are truffle hunts with truffle dogs, winery luncheons, and the weekend peaks on Saturday evening with the Grand Truffle Dinner, a multi-course truffle feast prepared by acclaimed chefs with expertise in creating the most sumptuous truffle dishes.

For more information on the festival and a list of weekend programs and packages, visit www.oregontrufflefestival.com or email festival coordinators at info@oregontrufflefestival.com.  Tickets for the various events and packages are available online.

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