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Stuart and I recently attended a dinner based on truffles, the famous black mushroom of the Perigord, at the École Hotelière, Lycée Pré de Cordy in Sarlat. Being at the hotel school, we were served by final year students and the entire meal was cooked by final year students as well (obviously with supervision from teachers as they are only 17 and 18 years old). The invitation was for only 35 people and the evening was Euro 50 per person, including an aperitif, wine pairings with dinner and a eau de vie de noix (walnut eau de vie) with coffee. You cannot beat that anywhere, that’s for sure. Now, you might be thinking, well, only Euro 50 including all that alcohol, the meal cannot possibly be good. But, you would be very wrong indeed. The food was excellent, worthy of a very fine dining restaurant. A similar meal, especially seeing as it included truffles, would put you back at least 4 to 5 times the price we paid. The price this week for truffles is Euro 850 per kilo! We were incredibly lucky to be given the opportunity to attend this superb evening thanks to our good friends, Michel and Carole, as he grows truffles on his land and is part of the truffle cultivators of the Perigord association.
The evening started with a cooking demonstration by one of the chefs then we were offered an aperitif and the meal began. Amuse-bouche of chestnut cappuccino with truffle shavings and assorted breads, including obviously a truffle bread roll and bread sticks served with truffle butter. I was so hungry by the time this arrived that I only realised once I had finished the last mouthful that I had not taken any photos. Oh well, you can imagine it, I am sure. It was actually very similar to my post from a few weeks back, the chestnut and foie gras cappuccino, but included truffles instead of foie gras. Chestnut and foie gras “cappuccino”
Luckily, I took photos of all the other dishes to share with you, except the cheese course, I forgot those as well! Every single course was absolutely delicious and beautifully presented. It is hard to pick my favourite but I think I would go for the tongue and foie gras starter, Langue Lucullus. It simply melted in your mouth and the textures and flavours were perfect in every way.
Entrée: Langue LUCULLUS truffée, coulis de panais et truffe noire
Purée de panais (parsnip)
Poisson: Le sandre sous la truffe (pike fish)
Viande: Le véritable Tournedos Rossini d’aprés Auguste Escoffier (beef fillet with foie gras)
Fromage: Le camembert au lait cru farci d’une crème truffée – no picture
Dessert: Les crêpes soufflées à la truffe, sauce chocolat blanc Mélano
From December to February, the world descends upon the Dordogne region to sniff out the celebrated black truffles or black gold as they are known. The tiny medieval town of Ste Alvère is well known for having the only truffle market in the area and one of the best in France. Every Monday at 10 precisely the doors open to the covered market, set up in the village square, opposite the church and it is there that the goddess Tuber Melanosporum is laid out for the shoppers and experts to buy on tables covered with white cloths. There is something quite bewitching about the grainy surfaced little balls with powerful aromas. All around are loud voices, negotiating prices and very fast money exchanges. By 10:30, almost all the truffles are sold and the sellers pack up and go home, much richer.
We set out a few Mondays ago and arrived as the market was in full swing. The deals are done quickly and one buyer, a well known distributor was walking away with several large zip lock bags full. He sells to the rest of France and the world. At about 600 Euro the kilo, that was a very expensive zip lock! That was the price 2 weeks ago, last week they were at almost 800 Euro and by Christmas and New Year will be at 1000 Euro the kilo. This is the wholesale price at the market and the price in stores will easily reach 2000 Euro! Not knowing much about truffles, we found a very friendly lady selling a few smallish ones who took great time and patience to explain the process and how to choose a good one. She explained the difference between a ripe one and one that would be ripe in a few days, the difference in aromas, color, size etc. I found it fascinating.
Back to the market and what I learned from the lovely lady selling her wares. Tuber melanosporum, called the black truffle, Perigord truffle or French black truffle is the most expensive edible mushroom in the world. The truffle has a black-brown skin, very strong aromatic smell and usually reaches a size of of to 10 cm / 3.9 in. Their flesh is initially white then dark. It is permeated by white veins that turn brown with age. Once picked, they last about a week. Truffles are not easy to find. They grow at a depth of about 5 cm / 2 in close to the roots of certain trees. The main one is the French oak. Not all oaks have truffles growing under them however. I know this as I have a few oaks in my garden and although I have looked very well, I have yet to find a truffle. Truffles used to be harvested with the aid of a female pig, trained for this purpose but pigs are now becoming less common. The main reason is that pigs have a natural tendency to eat almost anything remotely edible and several truffles have been lost to a greedy pig. Can you imagine looking at about 1000 Euros having just been gobbled up? So, dogs are now being used. They are trained to sniff them out and are happy to be rewarded with a treat or a pat on the head. Some farmers hunt for them themselves, as the lady who was chatting to us did, by looking for the truffle flies hovering around the base of a tree. These little flies land on the spot where the truffle is buried as they lay their eggs there. Then the harvester has to dig very carefully, so as not to damage the prized mushroom nor the tree root, until they find it. Quite a process.
Maison Travers 