Buried Treasure: Truffle Hunting in Umbria

I recently spent a day with the delightful Saverio and Gabriella from Tartufi Bianconi in Città di Castello.

Saverio took us along on a truffle hunt (with real truffle dogs and real truffle hunters) and showed us his fascinating private collection of truffle related memorabilia and curiosities.  His wife, Gabriella, welcomed us into her kitchen for a tasting of the precious local tubers and a truffle-themed home-cooked lunch.

To read a more detailed article about truffles in Umbria and my day spent with the Bianconis, check out the November 2010 Destinations Travel Magazine–but in the meantime here are some outtakes from our absolutely perfect day.

Meeting our pooches (and their pets) at the edge of the woods.

Asia The Truffle Dog gets right down to bizniz.

Score! Showing the humans how it's done.

And now she wants her Scooby Snack!

Sandy doesn't want to be outdone...she's on the chase now!

Giving us the goods...

Mmmm. That's what we're talking about.

Gabriella and I look over our haul, about to be sorted and weighed at the Tartufi Bianconi processing rooms.

Saverio shows me his unique private collection of truffle-related memorabilia

While we were preparing lunch, some local truffle hunters brought in some precious white truffles.

Gabriella prepares our tasting of the four different kinds of truffles found locally.

The perfect day ended with a perfect truffle-infused meal!

A special thanks to photographer Carlo Franchi for his wonderful shots of our adventure.

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