Truffles and Wild Mushrooms

Some years ago, my obsession with truffles caused a bit of a stir on an airplane. I had travelled to France in search of buried treasure, to meet a man who had dedicated his whole life to the pursuit of fresh truffles. After meeting the man and his dog, I carefully inspected the black beauties and handed over a king’s ransom for twenty-four amazing, aromatic, fresh truffles. I had spent so much money there was no way I was going to let them out of my sight, so I packed them neatly into my hand luggage and headed back to the airport. It was a very cold afternoon and I was confident that no one would notice the hidden treasure in my bag. I managed to get through security without a problem, but ten minutes into our flight, when the heating really started to kick in, a slight smell started wafting around the cabin. Pretty soon, the whole plane was filled with the heavy aroma that Gareth Renowden once described in The Truffle Book as resembling “old socks and sex”! After the cabin crew received several complaints from other passengers, I had no choice but to hold my hand up and confess that it was the contents of my hand luggage that was causing offence… some people don’t appreciate a culinary jewel when they smell one. These days, I’m happy to say that I don’t need to travel too far for my truffles, as I have another guy with a dog who hunts them in the mountains of Mallorca.