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Tuscan Truffle Trophy

18/5/2014

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I’m just back from the second annual Tuscan truffle hound competition organised by Riccardo, my truffle hunter.
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Dogs this way
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Tuscan Truffle Association banner
The competition is about as exciting as a village cricket match without the beer tent. Very little happens, but it does have the merit of being easy to understand the rules, unlike cricket (at least for me). I used to listen occasionally to a cricket match on the radio enjoying the foreign language of the commentators. Truffle hunters also have their own language which seems to consist of one- or two-syllable utterances to which the dogs rarely listen. This video gives you some idea of the pace and mutterings.

[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/95670529[/vimeo]
​
If it’s not much of a spectator sport, at least it demonstrates the method used and patience needed to train a dog to be a good truffle hound. There are very few breeds that can’t excel, but you have to start the training when they’re just a few weeks old. Give them simple commands, teach them to retrieve a stick and eventually bury a plastic capsule with a fragment of truffle in it for the puppy to find—over and over and over again.
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Burying the capsule could cause backache
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Mangled capsule
Riccardo explains the psychology of training: dogs are pack animals and the man (I haven’t met a female truffle hunter yet) has to play the role of leader of the pack. Some men don’t have it in them.
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Who's in charge?
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Dog? What dog?
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I didn't feel like digging truffles today anyway.
Others have figured out how to motivate their dogs to keep their noses to the ground.
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Two noses are better than one.
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This well-trained nose has found a truffle capsule.
Riccardo and Teo demonstrate best form. Note his subtle hand movements.
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Now for some fun!
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You're boss. What shall we do?
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We'll crisscross the ring. Over there first.
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Now to the right.
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Well done!
While not exactly electrifying, the location is beautiful and the camaraderie enjoyable. What better way to spend a sunny Sunday than chatting to friends while sitting on a stone wall in the shade of a pergola at San Vivaldo monastery.
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Convento San Vivaldo
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Chewing the fat
When the trials are finished, all the dogs and owners converge on the ring to retrieve the buried capsules.
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All noses to the deck
At this point a Franciscan friar emerges and surveys the scene.
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Note the size of the opening...
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...and the size of the friar.
He gazes at the small square marked out on the lawn, shakes his head and states that surely in so small a space every dog would find every truffle.
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If he got through the door, maybe his dog could find all the capsules.
Meanwhile, the certificates are being prepared and the prize-giving begins.
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Elegant
In 15th place, the man whose dog found none.
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He needs the friar's magic.
No one’s a loser.
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Everyone gets a bottle of wine and a bag of dog biscuits
In first place, a man no one knows. He wants to be notified of the next contest, but doesn’t understand what an email address is.
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The truffle trophy winner (left)
What sets a Tuscan truffle hound competition apart from a cricket match is lunch. We drift into Il Focolare (‘the hearth’), a restaurant in the cellars of one wing of the monastery, for an abundant and well-cooked lunch.
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What every friar's cellar needs
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What? No plastic capsules for antipasto?
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They must be hiding in the cannelloni.
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Roast pork, guinea fowl & chargrilled steak
Riccardo and I have taken many guests on real truffle hunts (no plastic capsules) followed by a truffle lunch at Riccardo’s home (click November, but you can hunt truffles in almost any month).  We’ve also designed an intensive truffle course, and soon we’ll have a truffle weekend on offer as well. Let me know if you’d like to be notified when it’s ready: info@sapori-e-saperi.com.
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