Black Tie and Gumboot Truffle Hunt and Dinner - with guest celebrity chef, Mitch Orr!
A winter highlight at Borrodell - and one of the Orange region’s most distinctive food events.
Each July, as truffle season peaks, we open the estate for our annual Black Tie & Gumboot Truffle Hunt and Dinner - now in its 19th year.
The afternoon begins in the trufferie, where trained (rescue!) dogs lead the search for Black Périgord truffles hidden beneath the estate’s oak trees. Freshly unearthed, they make their way straight into Mitch’s hands in the kitchen.
From there, the evening unfolds with a multi-course dinner built around the day’s harvest, paired with Borrodell’s museum wines and shaped by the season.
This year, we welcome Mitch Orr - former Culinary Director of 25hours Hotel The Olympia in Paddington, and the force behind Kiln (Ace Hotel Sydney) and ACME - one of Australia’s most compelling contemporary chefs.
So, what happens exactly?
Guests arrive dressed to the nines - tuxedos, velvet, winter coats and evening dresses - paired with gumboots built for the orchard. It’s part elegance, part irreverence, and entirely Borrodell.
The afternoon begins with a glass of Borrodell’s famous homemade warm mulled cider before guests head out into the trufferie for the hunt itself, led by trained rescue dogs weaving through the estate’s oak trees in search of Black Périgord truffles.
From there, everyone retreats to the warmth of our grand room, where snacks by Mitch Orr kick things off as guests mingle, settle in and the evening slowly gathers momentum.
Then it’s time to settle in for multiple courses built around the day’s truffle harvest - some of the freshest truffles you’ll eat anywhere in the country, moving straight from the earth to the plate within hours. Expect bold, generous cooking, matched Borrodell museum wines (vintage and rare release), and the kind of long-table energy that turns strangers into old friends by dessert.
The gumboot competition is a highlight of the night, with guests going all in - hand-painted, fur-lined, sequinned, reworked classics. Expect creativity, a little chaos, and serious bragging rights, alongside live music, a charity auction for those keen to participate, and a dancefloor that somehow always seems to evolve into a conga line before the night is through.
At the end of the evening, buses will transport guests back into Orange township.
It’s a little formal, a little muddy, and very Borrodell!
Black tie mandatory. Gumboots encouraged. Glamour up top, grit below!
Event Details
What: Black Tie and Gumboot Truffle Hunt and Dinner
When: Saturday 11 July 2026
Where: Borrodell Estate, Orange NSW
Contact information: info@borrodell.com.au
0438 865 217
Follow us on socials:
@borrodell_vineyard
Saturday, 11 July 2026
3:30pm for a 4.00pm start
Bus pick up back to Orange at 10:30pm.
Ticket includes:
Hour-long truffle hunting with trained rescue truffle dogs under oldest truffle trees on the mainland
Learn how truffles grow, and how dogs find them
Multi-course degustation Truffle dinner by special guest chef, Mitch Orr
Matched Borrodell museum wines (vintage and rare releases)
Wear your fanciest clothes! PS - it will be cold!
Live music entertainment
Award for best decorated gumboots!
Auction to raise funds for chef's choice of charity
Complimentary bus service to and from venue to various locations in Orange
Discounted accommodation at select providers in town*
The time of your life!
*For Accommodation partners, call us on 0438 865 217, or email info@borrodell.com.au
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions or will need to use our helipad, you glamourous truffle-hunters you!