In 1998, they moved to Margaret River, where Mel had
grown up, and worked various jobs around Australia before
moving into Customs. Their interest in truff le farming began
in 2007 after watching a segment on Landline. At the time,
there were only two truff le farms in Western Australia so
they travelled south to Manjimup to meet growers and learn
more about the industry. “The grower said the biggest
problem was the dogs and at that stage Mel was in Customs
working with them, so we trained one, came down and fell
in love with the Manjimup area and lifestyle,” recalls Gavin.
They moved down from Perth about two years later and
began planting 5.5 hectares of truff le-innoculated hazelnut
and oak trees in the Karri loam soil, harvesting their first
truff le about four years after that. “It’s been a long slow
process,” Gavin admits. “People have been very generous
with their knowledge and the journey is what it’s all about.
There have been a couple of setbacks and times when you’re
on your bottom in the paddock with something broken in
your hands and wonder why you are doing it. But overall it’s
been incredibly rewarding — I’ve got a cookbook signed by
Peter Gilmore of Quay restaurant in Sydney and a menu
from Dinner by Heston in London. It’s very humbling to
have a product and have chefs like that interested in it.” >rom June through until early September, Mel
Booth and her labrador retrievers spend most
days hunting the trufferie plantations of the
Southern Forests region of Western Australia.
As contractors to various growers in the region,
their day starts early amid the hazelnut and oak trees
and there is often a layer of frost on the forest f loor. “I love
hearing the dogs crunching through frost-covered leaves,”
says Mel, who sometimes finds up to 100 kilograms a day
of the black truff le, Tuber melanosporum. The dogs wear
special boots on their front feet and are trained to paw the
ground where they’ve picked up the scent of ripe truff les,
so as not to damage the precious fungi that can be found
growing on feeder roots in the humus layer below the
ground. “I enjoy being outside in the fresh air and calm
of the plantation with man’s best friend. The bond you
have with your dog is quite special.”
Meanwhile, back at their Wilgarup River Farm just east
of Manjimup, Mel’s husband Gavin grades truff les and
processes orders from their own plantation as well as
those of the Australian Truff le Traders, which he and Mel
established to provide a conduit to market for family growers
in the region. Organising sales to their international markets
that include London, New York and Paris means he often
works through the night to make calls to northern
hemisphere customers. Last year, the Australian Truff le
Traders sold 1.3 tonnes from the Southern Forests region with
90 per cent going to export markets. “We also ship anywhere
in Australia and I love that aspect of helping people plan
a dinner party and talking truff le to them, whether it’s a chef
or a husband looking to impress his beloved,” says Gavin.
“Truff le adds an edge of mystique and interest to a dish.”
Gavin, Mel and their seven-year-old son, Brin, have lived
at the 55-hectare farm since 2009 and, along with their truff le
plantation, also grow heirloom vegetables and run a herd of
50 Angus, Highland and Hereford breeders. It’s a world away
from their former lives — Gavin grew up in the Scottish
Highlands and worked in the Royal British Navy, and later
with Australian Customs Service on patrol boats. Mel also
worked in Customs as a handler of narcotics detector dogs.
Fortuitously, the couple met in 1997 on a square-rig sailing
ship off Scotland while Gavin was on leave from the navy and
Mel was travelling and working in the United Kingdom.
FACING PAGE, CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Mel
and her willing helpers Viva, Rani, Gaby and Gator.
“A good truffle dog will only find the ripe truffle,”
says Mel; Viva carefully marks the spot; the Booths
also run Highland and Angus cattle, along with one
Hereford, at Wilgarup River Farm; Gavin shows
Brin a ripe truffle: “Each truffle smells different,”
says Gavin. After the dog has identified a ripe
truffle, it’s carefully weighed, washed, dried
and graded before dispatch; the Booths’ garden.
“Mel and I both love to grow vegetables and
spend time in the garden,” says Gavin.MANJIMUP WA PEOPLECOU NTRY ST Y LE JUNE 2017 97