Tuscan truffle to be returned to homeland for burial
December 14, 2004
Michele Shah
The saga of a ruined €42,000 truffle has finally ended with the local Tuscan truffle association pleading for its return so it can be buried in its homeland.
Earlier this month London restaurant Zafferano made headlines by spending a record-breaking US$52,000 (€42,000) on the largest-ever white truffle at a charity auction near Pisa.
The 852g monster, which had been found by a farmer and his dog near San Miniato, the Tuscan village some 25 miles from Florence, was put on show while 'the world media flocked to admire and film it from all angles,' said Zafferano's manager Enzo Cassini.
But it was then put in the kitchen safe and went mouldy – mainly due to the length of time it had been on display. The staff were devastated, and it was decided it should be buried in the head chef's garden in Fulham in southwest London.
But when the Truffle Hunters of the San Miniato Hills Association heard it was to be buried far from its homeland, they sent a letter to Cassini requesting he return the giant truffle so that it could be given a decent burial in San Miniato, an area famous for Tuscan truffles.
In return they have offered Cassini 900g of white truffles estimated at £2150.
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