We did a bit of a study visit to the Tamar Valley truffle farm in the middle of summer, Marcus showed us some summer truffles, these truffles aren’t harvested as the dogs would choose and dig up the more pungent and immature winter truffles spores first and thus destroying the more lucrative winter season.
Truffles: As the Australian winter truffle season started, during the European summer. It quickly became apparent that not only had Corona disrupted the top end restaurant market for my Truffle aspirations, but some Danish company cornered the market with big purchases and price cuts, so a little fun contact & business that I’d had over the past couple of years went up in smoke.
A change was needed, i helped a friend demolish and rebuild a summer ice cream kiosk/restaurant into a more modern operation.
Strand 35 emerged into a successful summer restaurant which we opened, Jonas and his team were in front and I put together a team in the kitchen. Burgers, fries, salads and ice-cream served at the local beach. His logical thinking was a genius idea, we were only cooking and serving hamburgers and fries, but it gave our work ethics the reinforcement we needed.
I stumbled over a vanilla exporter hoping to move Papua New Guinea Vanilla into the European market, after months of communication, research and putting together a sales pitch. I put forward my pitch to some of our local gourmet/industry/bakery suppliers, I was convinced it would be a hit even in this dire time. Alas it missed the mark, apparently all the existing French colonies which grow vanilla, “this is pretty well means all of them” are a part of France and thus members of the EU, so they have no customs, tolls, duties exchange charges ect, so good night Papua New Guinea.