Canada's First Truffle Farm
Our History - Since 1999
The Truffle Farm began in 1999, when the plan was coming into it’s own. The theory that Black Perigord Truffles could be farmed in Canada was un-tested at the time.
In 1999, Canadian Agriculture had not considered truffle production yet, and it took multiple years of testing to inoculate multiple species of trees and plants to see what could host the Black Perigord Truffles.
Back in 1996-1999, our parents Grant and Betty set their minds to trying testing and proving truffle growth on Vancouver Island. They started testing trees to produce Truffles. They were the first to prove we can grow Truffles in Canada, and today we continue to develop and expand our plantations.
The Truffle Farm took great time and care to test many tree species to identify and prove which trees would host the Black Perigord Truffle. There was many years of testing all trees to prove that the Hazelnut and Garry Oak established the symbiotic relationship.
Since Black Perigord Truffles grow at the roots of our Garry Oak and Hazelnut trees, we needed help hunting the truffles. This was when Grant and Betty decided to look into the best truffle hunting dogs available.
They found Lagotto Romagnolo to be the best truffle hunting dogs available. They have been trained since the 1800s specifically to hunt truffles and look for that specific scent. Before the 1800s, Lagotto Romagnolo were a versatile hunting companion dog and would go out and guard the land and hunt with their family for hours.
Now today, we continue the tradition of the Lagotto Romagnolo breed and continue to train our Lagotto Romagnolo puppies and dogs to be able to hunt the scent of these rare and decadent truffles.
A photo of Virginia and Peter hunting for Truffles with their Lagotto Romagnolo truffle hunting dog
More Than Truffles
Truffle Experiences, Truffle Products & Much More!
The Truffle Farm has a large tree farm that produces Black Perigord Truffles at the roots, and Garry Oak / Hazelnut trees are the hosts after being scientifically inoculated with truffle spores here at The Truffle Farm. We infuse these truffles to produce truffle infused products for various culinary use, and we also sell our black perigord truffles for culinary use as well.
Truffles isn’t all we do though. We curate unique Truffle experiences, and we want to share the experience of Truffles and our Truffle Dogs in any way we possibly can. That’s why we built the Truffle Farm Activity barn, to bring unique experiences at the Truffle Farm to the public, with unique truffle infused snacks included with our workshops. The Truffle Farm activity barn opened up in 2023 for the first classes being seasonal fall and Christmas art workshops, creating wreathes and flower arrangements. Each class always has a unique and elaborate display of decadent snacks, crackers, fancy cheese and of course some Truffle infused snacks.
From there, we started the first puppy yoga classes on Vancouver Island! Our Truffle puppies benefit from social interaction from humans while they train to be the ultimate truffle hunters, service dogs, therapy dogs, family dogs, and more. This is why we thought it would be a great experience for them and yoga enthusiasts to collaborate and enjoy a unique experience together! Our first class went very well and everyone had lots of fun, and since then we continue to have fun and successful puppy yoga events.
We also have a fun online store where we well all of our products, along with home decor, clothing, dog accessories and more! It started as a online store just for our truffle infused products. As our customers asked us for various products or if we had any connections for them, we found them and add them as time goes on. Now we have a vast choice for various products that you can have fun and shop for at our online store.
Our History
Canada's First Truffle Farm & Lagotto Romagnolo Breeders
1999
The Truffle Farm Begins
For Betty & Grant's retirement, they decided to move to the stunning & beautiful Parksville, Vancouver Island with a plan to cultivate a Truffle Farm.
2000
Lagotto Romagnolo Puppy Imported from Italy
In the early 2000s, Betty & Grant Duckett imported their first, and Canada's first Lagotto Romagnolo puppy to the Truffle Farm at Parksville, Vancouver Island. When they imported the Lagotto dog, they were not even recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club yet.
2003
First Truffle Inoculum Imported
With extensive research & trial and error, our parents Betty and Grant Duckett imported their first Black Perigord Truffle inoculum. They tried multiple plant species to find a Truffle host, and eventually found success with Garry Oak and Hazelnut trees. They were the first known Canadian farmers to successfully cultivate Truffles in Canada.
2007
First Known Black Perigord Truffle Harvested in Canada
The Truffle Farm (The Truffle Portion of our farm was and is known as Duckett Truffieres) are Canada’s first producer of Black Perigord Truffle (2007). With only knowledge of which trees host truffle in Europe, agricultural experience, hard work, patience and tenacity, Ducketts have now spent many years incubating, inoculating and growing truffle-hosting trees. Trufficulture is a new dimension in Canadian agricultural diversification. There is no way to know what effect small variations in microclimate, location and trufficulture methods may have in Canada without years of scientific study.
2012
Lagotto Romagnolo Informational Presentation at CKC/CDJA Educational Conference 2012
“The Canadian Kennel Club and the Judges Association asked us to present Lagotto Romagnolo to the Educational Conference in Vancouver. Our dogs were awesome, and they performed spectacularly as a strong working Lagotto Romagnolo would. They showed themselves so beautifully, it was unbelievable.” - Betty Duckett on Shaw TV Feature
2016 & 2017
1st Place Westminster 2016 & 2017 Lagotto Romagnolo Showing
Anna Dal Mulino Rosso – out of Gleska kennel, paired with Angelus Mei, whelped a wonderful litter in 2017 (both lineages won Westminster 2016 + 2017 Lagotto Romagnolo Showing).
Who We Are
We are a family run farm
Peter Brietzke
The Truffle Farm OwnerThe one who holds it all together. Peter is the owner and rock of all that happens for our farm and life. His great accomplishment is his family and shows through all that he does. Peter loves to make others happy, this is his true joy.
Virginia Brietzke
The Truffle Farm OwnerVirginia Brietzke truffle farm coordinator through organizing and planning. I pride myself on providing joy and peace to all aspects of life. I love being part of a team and pulling through a well executed plan that makes a difference for a quality life. A proud recipient of Canada's first woman to receive a chairman's award for best customer service and sales.
Garrett Brietzke
Care TakerLoves to connect people. His joy is seeing farm growth and raising baby animals. Steady and consistent is his mantra for life. He also loves to give back to his community in any way he can.
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Our Location
Located at 420 Lowrys RD, Parksville, B.C. - Canada