The Truffle Festival: The Périgord Truffle does its show in Sarlat

Do you like Périgord Truffles? Did you know that Truffle Markets take place all winter (from December, even November to February / March), in Sarlat ? In January, each year, very large friendly, prestigious and joyful festivities are held throughout the city ... The Truffle Festival and the Culinary Academy of Foie Gras and Truffles, it is a time when all professionals, enthusiasts, prestigious and amateur cooks, the curious and the gourmet get together. The city center of the capital of the Périgord Noir is full of sales stands, exhibitions, cooking demonstrations, workshops, delicacies stalls ... So, are we going?

In 2026, La Fête de la Truffe will take place on January 17 and 18 in Sarlat. Click to see the program

Tthis report was produced in 2019.

A weekend marked by Truffles and Foie Gras

The Truffle Festival is in full swing for a whole weekend in the city center of the Medieval City of Sarlat, every year in January. This year, it will take place on January 17 and 18, 2026, book your stay in Périgord Noir now, note it in your diaries if you are in the region!

For 2 days, dozens of truffle farmers bring their finest truffles, to have them valued at the award-winning market. You can then enjoy exceptional truffles in size, shape, flavors, texture ... At fair prices and set by professionals. For professionals, who buy for restaurants, host tables or other, but also for individuals, not necessarily very comfortable with the purchase of this luxury and expensive product, this is a fantastic opportunity !

Entertainment at the Truffle Festival

The Truffle Festival is also a lot of delicacies, this is where we will taste the famous Croustous at lunchtime. These are small bites, portions easy to taste with your fingers, that you can buy inexpensively at dozens of stands, gathered around the square in front of the Town Hall. There are high tables, people laughing, having fun and enjoying these delicious croustous ! The atmosphere is great! There is music, dishes that can be cooked everywhere, a fantastic smell in the air, Bergerac Duras wines to discover to accompany your dishes. Do not miss this moment ...

French gastronomy revisits the classics, Périgord style

You will also attend demonstrations of digging, with a truffle dog. He is trained by his master to recognize the smell of the truffle and the place where it is hidden, without eating the truffle (because it is also good for animals) and the truffle farmer can then proceed to harvest! But it is not only dogs that excel in the art of finding truffles, there are also pigs, as well as flies ! You will see them in the educational space, with truffle oaks and professionals who are at your disposal to introduce you to the art of recognizing a good truffle!

Several stands for demonstrations of truffle cooking recipes are set up throughout the medieval city. Producers, but also cooks will teach you how to accommodate it, with its friend the Périgord Foie Gras! Tips, advice and tastings in perspective… Children are also invited to try their hand at cooking, at a stand reserved for them with animators.

Cooking class for children

Wine lovers are invited to a tasting and a wine-tasting course with Bergerac Duras wines. You will discover our terroirs, the particularities of our wines, the grape varieties used and a tasting will allow you to taste all the richness of their flavor, their texture ... A great opportunity to find accompaniments for your dishes of truffles and Foie gras.

Bergerac Duras wine tasting

The must-do is a cooking class with a chef... In a fully equipped kitchen, with apron and chef's hat, you will learn all the steps to make a dish and its accompaniment, based on truffles! I participated in a course and learned how to cook chicken breasts stuffed with truffles with homemade gnocchi ... A real treat ...

Jean Rougié Trophy of Foie Gras and Truffles

It is a competition for young talents in the kitchen, which takes place during the Truffle Festival. In the amphitheater, chaired by the Meilleur Ouvrier de France and a prestigious jury of starred chefs, this competition consists of the creation of two dishes, a cold piece and a hot recipe. In 2026, it will be the ^17th edition of this competition for young enrolled in a school linked to the kitchen training, between 18 and 25 years. The competition is open to spectators, you can attend the preparation of the dishes (sitting in the amphitheater) and the award ceremony, rich in emotions!

Nicolas Delacourt, winner of the 2019 edition

Truffle markets in Sarlat, during winter and the truffle season

The Truffle Season, nature chooses when it starts! Depending on weather and climatic conditions, the mycorrhized truffle oak, which is the host of the truffle, must be ready to share it with us ... Finally, with the dog, flies or wild boars, precious auxiliaries when it s is to find the truffle ! Because it is hidden… it is not like a porcini or another mushroom, it does not protrude from the ground and it is by the smell that it is found. This earthy and characteristic smell… You can see demonstrations of truffle dogs at the Truffle Festival.

Every Wednesday afternoon, in Sarlat rue Fènelon (opposite the Town Hall), there is a wholesale truffle market to buy truffles. On Saturday morning, there is also a truffle market, open to all! Take advantage!

Did you know that the truffle keeps wonderfully in an egg box (not in the fridge especially! In the open air) and that it will then embalm, after a few days in contact with the porous shell, the eggs ? A fantastic tip for making truffle omelets or fried eggs with truffle peels, exquisite…

Want to find out more about Sarlat's truffle market? Visit the Tourist Office website!

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