The Dark Side of White Truffle

In Alba, Piedmont, in Italy’s northwest, the truffle hunt is a tradition stretching back centuries. Today the Alba white truffle is sought-after all over the world, fetching high prices at auction, and served in the world’s finest restaurants. In Alba though, the truffle hunters, or trifolau as they are known in the local dialect, still walk the forests at dawn with their dogs, carrying on an ancient tradition,

There is a dark side to the Alba white truffle however. Intense competition among hunters has seen the practice of targeting dogs, laying out poison for them to eat, resulting in agonising, slow deaths. The truffle’s natural habitat is under threat from the increased cultivation of wine and hazelnuts, and the forest is disappearing.
Fine Dining Lovers ventured into the Alba forest before first light, guided by trifolau, to unearth the stories behind this quasi-mystical tradition and its little-known dark underbelly.