Ballarat chef Liam Downes to transition into running Black Cat Truffles

A transition is underway to allow Liam Downes and his young family to take up a tree change-style move to the Wattle Flat Farm under the guidance of themselves and super sleuth lagotto Lottie from May.

Ms Simpson said the arrangement would work as a trial for both parties. She and Mr Eadie will continue to own Black Cat Truffle, with Mr Downes leasing the property as they return to Melbourne to pursue new interests.

The couple is keen to spent more time in "grandparenthood" and Mr Eadies' continued involvement in mining exploration and company directorships. But they will not be far away.

For Mr Downes, Black Cat Truffles was an incredible move towards the paddock-to-plate venture he had always hoped he would end up running on a property of his own one day.

Mr Downes is the executive chef for PWLT Group, teaming with Teddy Powlett and Drew Harry to bring Ballarat Moon and Mountain, Ragazzone, Renard bar, sandwich shop Earl's Deli and Waubra winery restaurant, Wayward.

"When [Ms Simpson and Mr Eadie] came to me late last year and asked if I knew anyone, I thought 'why not me'," Mr Downes said. "My dream was always to grow my own food and cook my own food, especially in restaurants and cafes. I have a chance to work with Kristen and Tom. They've built a great brand."

The move is a full circle-like move for Mr Downes, who grew up in the Blackwood-Greendale area. His parents works in pubs and Mr Downes said he was put to work helping from a young age.

This is where Mr Downes felt he learned a strong work ethic. The farm was a way Mr Downes hoped his young sons could in turn learn from him while spending more time with him.

"I've definitely worked hard the past six-and-a-half years and my boys are growing up," Mr Downes said. "For them, it will be a good chance to see what I do. They know I work hard but this will also give them responsibilities or caring for animals and different things in the garden."

While fairly confident in growing seasonal produce - Mr Downes' parents have long been avid gardeners - Mr Downes appreciated Ms Simpson and Mr Eadie staying on board so he could learn from their experience.

Ms Simpson said they would very much love to stay involved in the regional Victoria truffle industry and Black Cat operations as much as Mr Downes needed.

It is expected Mr Downes' early efforts will be in creating his own truffle-focused tasting menu into the French-themed cafe where Ms Simpson has run a truffle-degustation menu the past three years adjacent to the oak tree truffiere.

Lottie, who Ms Simpson said was blessed with "an amazingly successful truffle-oriented scent-detector", will return to run weekend truffle hunts during the black winter truffle season, which runs from June to September. Lottie will also be helping Mr Downes' new Lagotto Romagnolo, who is set to join his family this week.

"With Tom and Lottie's continued involvement in running truffle hunts, providing informative talks about the 'art, science and magic of truffle farming' and introducing guests to the unique pleasure of extracting a black muddy nugget from within the roots of the oak trees, there will definitely be some continuity with this core aspect of the previous business," Ms Simpson said.

"Liam and his lagotto will no doubt be very quick learners so we are anticipating hand over of that part of our business before long too."

Mr Downes was confident the shift would not greatly impact on the PWLT Group's operations. He said head chefs at each venue already keep everything running and his role was to do whatever the business needed.

Moon and Mountain was the only site open before the pandemic. Ragazzone opened days before lockdowns and Renard, Earl's and Wayward have followed. Mr Downes was confident they were in good stead.

"We've achieved a lot together. I want to keep helping to consult, to help teach and learning," Mr Downes said. "...I'm pretty proud of what we've achieved."

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