Created by the Black Périgord Truffle Producers' Group and the town of Sarlat, the Truffle Festival has become an unmissable event in the region. This festival entirely dedicated to the truffle takes place every year at Sarlat in mid-January. Many activities are available throughout the weekend, like truffle identification workshops, conferences, truffle-hunting demonstrations and a big market where the public can meet truffle-growers and buy fresh truffles or truffle-based products.
The main restaurants in the town have stands on Place de la Liberté, where they offer samples of "Croustous", a kind of Périgord tapas with truffle and foie gras. A flavourful taste experience! Sarlat's chefs also give cookery demonstrations and courses where you can learn how to cook the gastronomic specialities of Périgord.
The Jean Rougié Award takes place alongside this event. This is a cookery competition for students taking a vocational baccalaureate with the cookery option or a BTS (HND equivalent) at CFAs (Apprentice Training Centres) all over France. The candidates have to make a recipe using foie gras and black Périgord truffle. The eight finalists are shortlisted on the basis of their applications and compete to win the title by preparing two dishes.
