This coming Saturday 3rd December at 7pm on TVNZ1, Kings Truffles will have the iconic New Zealand farming show, Country Calendar, showcasing Jax and her dogs, Bill (Jax’s father) and Bridget (Jax’s sister), as well as other local North Canterbury businesses.
“Growing truffles has become a lifestyle interest for a handful of New Zealanders in recent years, but Jax Lee of Waipara in North Canterbury is one of the few who has a full time job in the industry.
Jax manages trees in existing truffières, harvests and markets truffles. She also inoculates new saplings with truffle spore and plants them out in new truffières.
She works for Kings Truffles, a company owned by her parents and three other investors which plans to keep planting till they have 50 hectares in truffle trees.
Jax loves her job. ‘I never get the chance to get too bored, dealing with animals and plants and being outside, and also people and food and wine,’ she says. ‘It’s the perfect mix.’
Truffles grow underground from a fungus that forms around the roots of some types of trees, mostly hazels or oaks. The tree roots need to be infected with the fungus before they are planted. ” Watch the episode here.
