The Truffle Hunter



The prized Alba truffle is found deep in the forests in northwestern Italy, in a region known as Piedmont. Pungent mysteries, they can’t be cultivated and are exceedingly difficult to locate in their natural habitat. There’s one tiny human, surrounded by a group of canines, who knows how and where to unearth them. In order to protect his techniques and hunting locations, his identity can’t be revealed. The elderly truffle hunter is so secretive about his location that he parks his car miles away from his hunting sites and in the wee hours begins the hunt with his dogs, who will protect him with their lives. Not even family members know where the site is. The reason for the CIA-like activities is because of the price the truffles fetch. As of this year, Alba truffles are going for $1,581 a pound. The most expensive Alba truffle ever sold went for $484,000 a pound, while the largest single Alba truffle sold for $66,000.