Truffle hunting in Italy’s Alba and Chianti regions and where to eat ‘the Mozart of mushrooms’ in Hong Kong
- Italian truffles are dug up in places like Alba and Chianti by hunters with specially trained dogs, and joining them on the search is an experience unto itself
- Whether simply shaved over eggs or pasta or woven into more complex creations, the truffles are all the more striking when paired with local wines
“Ha trovato! Brava!” (She found one! Well done!) rings out in the distance through the oak trees as we run towards the voice through sun-dappled leaves, damp soil underfoot in the early autumn morning.
It’s only 10 minutes into our hunt for truffles in a forest deep in the hills of Chianti, in Italy’s Tuscany region, but the pair of adorable lagotto romagnolo dogs leading the way have already found their third black truffle of the day.
A brother and sister, Iside and Rigel belong to Francesco Veltorni and his wife, Maria Grazia. We’re here at the very tail end of black truffle season, with white truffles set to appear in the coming weeks. Not that Iside and Rigel care. Their unbridled joy and enthusiasm is infectious as they scamper tirelessly through the undergrowth, stopping and sniffing intently, before they begin to paw away at the ground to unearth the valuable fungi.
They dig deep, after which Veltorni uses a trowel-like implement to carefully prise the black diamond from the packed soil, before rewarding the dogs with a treat.
He explains that truffles can be found year-round in Chianti, but it’s still a few weeks before white truffles come of age and develop into the musky, aromatic nuggets that are so prized – and valuable.
“The conditions have to be balanced,” he says. “Truffles are 90 per cent water, so too much rain is not good.”
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Lagotto romagnolo translates to “lake dog from Romagna” as these dogs were originally bred for duck hunting through wet marshland. Their hair doesn’t shed, nor does it get too long, meaning it won’t easily get caught in twigs and the mass of organic material covering the forest floor.
Veltorni explains that the dogs find both black and white truffles up to the age of four, but thereafter he only lets them seek out the more valuable white truffles. Fully training them takes years.
“When they are still young, around two months old, I bury the truffle in the garden and they are supposed to find it. This is their mini-training. The real training then happens in the forest, when their sense of smell is heightened. They have the truffles in their heads, it’s something specific to this breed. It’s in their blood and DNA.”
He explains how the males and females of the breed have different hunting characteristics. “They’re a lot like people. Male dogs have strength and persistence, but [the females] are more careful and deliberate, so they have more of a gift.”
Veltorni was formerly a carpenter and a horse trainer before deciding to go full-time into truffles and breeding the lagotto romagnolo that he so clearly adores. He also takes visitors for truffle-hunting experiences, such as our visit arranged through the neighbouring 12th-century castle turned luxury resort, Como Castello del Nero.
It’s there that the truffles are crafted into outstanding dishes at Pavilion, a restaurant terrace with spectacular views over the hills, vineyards and olive groves that are so typical of Tuscany. Whether simply shaved over eggs or pasta or woven into more complex creations, the heady flavours imparted from the truffles – found less than 500 yards (460 metres) from our table – are all the more striking when paired with local Chianti wines, making for a true sense of culinary terroir.
Veltorni’s favourite way to eat them is over scrambled eggs, but they’re a rare treat, even for a truffle hunter.
“I prefer to sell the white truffle, not to eat it! If I start eating truffles, imagine that 100 grams of white truffle costs around €200 [US$230]. [If I eat] 1kg when they are in season, I would have eaten €2,000 worth of truffles. So, I prefer to have that money. I have to cover the dog food, training and gasoline.”
Very occasionally his dogs will unearth a rare large truffle. His record payday was €1,000 for a 550g (1.2lb) white truffle, of which he shows a photo on his phone with considerable pride.
One final memory from this Tuscan truffle adventure was that when I put the truffles in my pocket, I accidentally placed them next to my face mask. Never had wearing one been such a fragrant joy.
From Tuscany it’s a 400km (250 mile) drive northeast to rural Piedmont and the town of Alba. Alba is associated more with truffles than any other place thanks to the annual truffle fair held in the town and its reputation as a trading centre, to the point where many menus around the world specify “Alba white truffles”.
The reality, however, is that many of the truffles purportedly from around Alba and Piedmont come instead from Croatia, Albania and Romania, all of which continue to increase supply for the seemingly insatiable demand.
If the truffles are totally white, they’re not from Italy, as ours have a yellow colour here. People buy white truffles at the fair, get home – and they taste of nothing
One guaranteed source of local white truffles, however, comes at Tartuflanghe, a company that only works directly with around 300 truffle hunters in Langhe, in southern Piedmont. It started life back in 1968 as an Alba restaurant specialising in truffle dishes, then in the mid-’70s began exporting truffles around the world. From there it started to create truffle-based products and ingredients such as pastas, oils and even potato chips.
It also offers visitors truffle-hunting experiences, allowing us to spend an afternoon with five-year-old Macchia, two-year-old Perla and their owner Michele Bertorusso, another trifulau (truffle hunter) who boasts half a century of hunting experience.
His crossbreed dogs come from hunting royalty, he explains. “Perla’s mum is a police drug sniffing dog and her father is a pointer, for hunting.”
He gently reproaches them from a distance, with a smile: “Basta nocciole! Probbiamo qui,” or “Enough of the hazelnuts! Let’s try here!”
As he leans on his stick he explains that to find truffles you need a pristine environment where the sun is able to touch the soil – otherwise they simply won’t grow. Oak trees give a darker colour to truffles, while linden and hazelnut trees impart a sweetness.
Another non-negotiable element to successful truffle-hunting is patience. “We have to wait – we cannot predict the season. It’s produced from nature, so if it’s not available it’s not available!”
He stresses how careful people have to be when buying the expensive fungus. “Many truffles in nature have no taste. If the truffles are totally white, they’re not from Italy, as ours have a yellow colour here. People buy white truffles at the fair, get home – and they taste of nothing.”
Bertorusso sells his truffles to Tartuflanghe, which in turn supplies restaurants across Italy and around the world, including Castellana in the beautiful and historic hilltop Piedmont town of Saluzzo. At the restaurant, which is located in a former monastery, typical Piedmontese cuisine is given a contemporary lift by chef Enrico Degani, with black and white truffles taking starring roles, when in season.
If its name sounds somewhat familiar, Castellana’s sister restaurant of the same name sits some 9,500km away from the original – in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay district, where it also serves up the black and white diamonds that the Italian composer Rossini famously once called “The Mozart of Mushrooms”.
The Hong Kong restaurant’s four-course white truffle degustation menu includes a creamy mountain egg with crisp leeks, and the Piedmont classic pasta tagliolini – known locally as tajarin – with more shavings of one of the world’s most special and sought-after ingredients.
Where to find truffles in Tuscany, Piedmont – and Hong Kong
La Torre, Como Castello del Nero, Str. Spicciano, 7, 50028 Barberino Tavarnelle FI, Italy, tel: +39 055 098 1946
Tartuflanghe, Località Catena Rossa, 7, 12040 Piobesi d’Alba CN, Italy, tel: +39 0173 361414
Castellana, Via Tapparelli, 9-12037 Saluzzo (Cuneo), Italy, tel: +39 0175 518038
Castellana Hong Kong, 10/F Cubus, 1 Hoi Ping Road, Causeway Bay, tel: 3188 5028
