A missed offer on the Hawthorn house led to a dramatic boom, with Kristen and Tom Simpson turning Black Cat Truffles in Wattle Flat into a truffle farming lifestyle business that is now on the market. Photo: Dannika Bosner
Losing a Hawthorn auction with a ‘whisker’ was the $1.6 million heartbreak that turned into a regional jackpot for Melbourne couple Kristen Simpson and Tom Eadie.
In September 2019, the couple thought they had simply lost a property.
Instead, the failed bid sparked a life-changing pivot to an 8-acre estate at Wattle Flat, which would become one of Victoria’s most successful agritourism ventures.
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Now the business and home have hit the market with a price expectation of between $2 and $2.2 million.
“I said to Tom, ‘I wonder what we’d get for that kind of money if we looked 100 kilometers around Melbourne?’” Ms Simpson said.
What they found was an aerial view of an estate in the Victorian Central Highlands, complete with rows of oak trees and an established truffiere.
It was a huge increase in scale at a fraction of the cost of the Hawthorn house they were looking for.
The Black Cat Truffles cafe on Howards Rd, Wattle Flat, where guests can combine truffle hunting with truffle-focused cuisine in Victoria’s Central Highlands.
A classic Central Highlands sunset over Wattle Flat, one of the moments Kristen Simpson says she and husband Tom will miss most after handing over Black Cat Truffles.
By comparison, regional hubs near their new venture, such as Ballarat, maintain an average of around $605,000, allowing the couple to reinvest their savings.
According to wholesale sources, premium Black Periford truffles currently fetch $3,000 per kilogram.
At that rate, the farm’s annual 200-pound harvest could represent a staggering $300,000 in annual revenue, not including operating costs.
“As soon as you walk in and see the rows of oak trees producing these underground black clumps, you know you can’t just leave them alone,” Ms Simpson said.
Despite having no background in agriculture or hospitality, the couple quickly realized that the property was much more than a country retreat. What followed was a steep learning curve in irrigation and truffle spore management.
Black Cat Truffles’ restaurant has become part of the region’s gastronomic trail, serving truffle menus that have helped make the property a destination experience.
Tom, a geologist and geophysicist, used his engineering expertise to strike ‘black gold’ in the ground, while Kristen, formerly in marketing at Monash University, built a first-class visitor experience.
Their concept was simple: invite guests on a truffle hunt with trained dogs and then serve truffle-centric dishes in their 24-seat, licensed café.
The business quickly gained traction online, winning a Ballarat Commerce Award for Agritourism in its second year.
“We thought, ‘Gosh, we’re going to get this done,’” Ms. Simpson said.
The 8.09ha Black Cat Truffles holding on Howards Rd, Wattle Flat, combines a rural homestead with established truffle infrastructure and visitor appeal.
A tranquil dining space at Black Cat Truffles in Wattle Flat, designed for long lunches after truffle hunting in the oak rows outside.
“People are finding truffles. And we’re growing more and more of them.”
The estate is one of the few in Australia to harvest both winter and summer truffles, extending the commercial season from June to the end of March.
Today the business is run by award-winning Ballarat chef Liam Downes, who has “taken the cafe to another level” as he continues the signature truffle hunt from Friday to Sunday.
Black Cat Truffles’ homestead kitchen, a practical hub behind the hospitality side of the truffle farm lifestyle business in Wattle Flat, Victoria.
The farm swimming pool at Black Cat Truffles, part of the lifestyle menu on the 8.09 hectare Wattle Flat estate.
While Kristen and Tom say leaving the property is emotional, they are returning to Melbourne to be closer to their six children and 12 grandchildren.
The couple hopes the next owner will fall in love with the land and the thrill of the hunt.
“It’s the coolest part of Victoria to live in,” Ms Simpson said.
“We absolutely loved it.”
The exterior of the four-bedroom home at Black Cat Truffles, set among gardens and established plantings in Victoria’s Central Highlands.
A view across the paddocks and truffiere area of Howards Rd, Wattle Flat, where truffle hunting has become a key part of the property’s appeal.
“The gardens, the trees, the sunsets, they are extraordinary.”
They also left behind eight alpacas that had become part of everyday life on the farm.
The 8.09ha Black Cat Truffles property on Howards Rd, Wattle Flat includes a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house, four parking spaces and an established truffle infrastructure.
Sellers Kristen and Tom Simpson, who traded life in Melbourne for truffle farming after missing out on a Hawthorn home, have put Black Cat Truffles, Wattle Flat on the market for $2 million – $2.2 million through Phil Hayward and Toby Tanis of Jellis Craig Ballarat.
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