Yesterday was the big auction for the rare white truffle from Alba.
Giant truffle fetches ?62,000 in auction
By Marco Giannangeli
(Filed: 14/11/2005)
The world's most expensive truffle sold for more than ?60,000 yesterday after an international auction dominated by a handful of celebrity chefs.
The Alba truffle: the identity of the winning bidder is still unknown
Weighing 2lb 10oz, the rare white Alba truffle, which is only found in Piedmont, Italy, for two months of the year, was described by auctioneers as "the size of a small handbag".
Buyers, linked by satellite, gathered in Shanghai, Honk Kong, Italy and London for the live event organised by the Piedmontese tourist board in aid of charity.
The Italian chef Umberto Vezzoli's Fiore restaurant in St James's was chosen as the British venue, where more than 200 guests - ranging from the Belgian Ambassador Baron de Gruben to a group of "high-profile lawyers" - enjoyed Champagne and a menu that started with potato cream and white truffles and the atmosphere was of well-ordered Italian pandemonium.
Marco Pierre-White, who attended the event with his wife, Matti, and their daughter, Mirabell, bid successfully for four out of five truffles on offer in London, which will be served at his new Luciano restaurant. But the chef gave his last win - a 14oz truffle snapped up for ?4,000 - to his rival, Bruno Giorgi, of Mayfair's Sketch restaurant.
The culinary delicacy has long been a much sought-after ingredient, a fact supported by Gordon Ramsay's recent announcement to sell a pizza topped with white truffle for ?100 at his Maze restaurant.
Then the satellite links started to relay the bidding on the mother of all truffles, uncovered under an oak tree by specially trained dogs and being cherished like a new born baby at the Castello di Grinzane Cavour, in Alba, 43 miles from Turin.
The joviality took on a hard edge when Antonio Signiorini, of the Consortia olive oil group, began to match the bids from the Ritz Carlton hotel in Hong Kong.
With the voice of William O'Reilly, the Christie's auctioneer and master of ceremony, raising by several octaves, Signiorini remained cool, and dropped out only when the bid reached ?57,000.
The identity of the bidder who finally scooped the giant truffle for 95,000 euros (?62,000) remained a mystery last night.
My dad is here visiting with us for a couple of weeks. Next weekend we are off to see what all the fuss about a truffle is and hopefully taste some of the lovely wines the region has to offer. We will be staying at our English friend's new hotel, "La Villa" smack in the heart of truffle country. If you ever want to visit the region, I strongly suggest you stay at their wonderful bed and breakfast. By the way, question mark should be a British pound sign. I have no idea how to correct it. I tried, but, no luck.
Krista
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2 comments:
It looks amazingly like a big chunck of rock. Your gonna have to let me know how your trip goes. The inn looks beautiful.
I will. We have been there before, and, the place is beautiful. The owners sold their home, backed up, and moved out of London to buy and restore this jewel of a villa in Italy. They are great people full of energy and life, and they have found what is important to them. Each other, in other words, family.
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