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Truffle Course

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​   ​Click on topics below for more information
2022: December 2–5 for white truffles
2023: June 23–26 for scorzone (black summer truffle)

​Availability: December 6 places | June 6 places

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This course for food professionals and keen foodies covers theoretical and practical elements of hunting for and cooking with truffles. You’ll learn about the different types and the life cycle of truffles, see how Riccardo trains young dogs and join Riccardo and his dog Turbo on a truffle hunt. In a cooking lesson, you’ll find out how the different truffles are used in typical Italian cuisine and will cook a meal based on truffles. You’ll find out what to look for in a good truffle and, importantly, what truffle products to avoid.

Click on topics below for more information
To request a booking form email info@sapori-e-saperi.com


​Course at a glance

Friday

Arrival at Pisa airport or Pisa Centrale train station no later than 2.45 pm (one transfer to B&B will be provided at 2.45 pm)

Session 1: Introduction to truffles & truffle hunting: what are truffles and where are the found

Welcome dinner cooked by Riccardo and his wife Amanda at their home

Saturday

Session 2: Truffle hunt & visit habitats of truffles not in season

Lunch at Riccardo & Amanda's

Session 3: Truffle dogs: history, breeds & methodology of training

Dinner at Osteria del Norcino, Montopoli

Sunday

Session 4: Truffle hunt

Session 5: Cooking with truffles: how to clean truffles, how different truffles are used in Italian cuisine, what to avoid. Hands-on cooking lesson preparing typical truffle dishes with Riccardo’s wife Amanda.

Lunch: the truffle dishes you cooked

Session 6: Sensory analysis of truffles

Dinner at our B&B Moscondoro

Monday

Depart (one transfer from hotel will be provided after 8:00 am)

​Click on tabs above for more information
To request a booking form email info@sapori-e-saperi.com
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Friday

Arrive Pisa airport or train station and transfer to B&B Il Moscondoro, Montopoli. One pick-up no later than 14.45

Transfer to the home of Riccardo, truffle hunter and leader of our course.  He lives near San Miniato, the hilly area where some of the heaviest and most expensive white truffles have been found

Session 1: Introduction to truffles & truffle hunting with Riccardo
  • What is a truffle
  • Life cycle of truffles
  • Principal types of truffles and their seasons
  • Environmental factors affecting distribution of truffles
    • geomorphology & soil
    • micro-climate
    • suitable trees​

Aperitivo & welcome dinner
Riccardo & his wife Amanda have prepared a typical Tuscan dinner with truffles in every course (well, no truffle pudding).

Saturday

Breakfast and transfer to Riccardo’s home

Session 2: Truffle hunt
  • Visit different localities where truffles are found at other seasons.
  • Depending on the season we then proceed to one of Riccardo's truffle grounds with his dog to hunt for truffles.

Lunch at Riccardo’s home

Session 3: Truffle dogs: history, breeds & methodology of training
  • Breeds
  • Methods of training
    • Classical
    • Expert dog
    • Clicker
  • Maintaining the man-dog-truffle relationship
  • Demonstration of training

Dinner Osteria del Norcino
A norcino is a pork butcher and tonight we are treated to the cured pork specialities of the Marianelli family, perfected over five generations. Despite being in a 15th-century palace, the atmosphere is informal and if we’re lucky, some musicians of the town might serenade us with old Tuscan songs.

Sunday

Breakfast and transfer to Riccardo's home

Session 4: Truffle hunt
Your second experience of hunting for truffles, perhaps in a different area.


Session 5: Cooking with truffles
  • How to clean truffles
  • How different truffles are used in Italian cuisine
  • What to avoid
  • Truffle and wine pairing
  • Hands-on cooking lesson preparing typical truffle dishes with Riccardo’s wife Amanda.

Lunch eating what you cooked

Transfer to Riccardo’s home

Session 6: Buying and storing truffles
  • Buying truffles
  • Sensorial analysis of truffles, or, how to identify a good truffle
  • What truffle products to beware of
  • How to store truffles

Farewell dinner
Typical Tuscan meal prepared by Chef Massimo at our B&B

Monday

Transfer to Pisa airport or Pisa train station no earlier than 8 am

​To request a booking form email info@sapori-e-saperi.com
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Course Leader

Riccardo Nicosia

Riccardo is an amateur truffle hunter who devotes much of his spare time to truffles. When he’s not out searching for them in the hills of San Miniato, he’s studying Google Earth and large-scale topography maps looking for likely new sites where they might be found. He has long been interested in botany, mycology and dog training. By now he has built up an enormous body of knowledge which he enjoys sharing with truffle lovers and aspiring truffle hunters through his dog training and truffle hunting courses. Given that his father was a chef, Riccardo’s interest in truffles doesn’t stop with the hunt. He and his wife Amanda are experts on the preparation of classic truffle dishes, the pairing of wines with truffles and good food in general.
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Course Organiser

Erica Jarman

Following Heather’s careers as archaeologist, orchestra and artist manager and chef, she Italianised her name to Erica and came to Lucca to pursue her passion for traditional artisan food. Her tours, inspired by her infectious curiosity, open captivating new worlds to her guests.​
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Il Moscondoro
A dog-friendly B&B only 8 minutes from our truffle hunter. Gemma & her husband-chef Massimo welcome you to their rustic farmhouse into which they've inserted comfortable rooms with ensuite baths. Delicious breakfasts and authentic Tuscan dinners.
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Price

Per person
2 people: 2000 Euros each
3 people: 1675 Euros each
4–6 people: 1500 Euros each

Includes

3 nights welcoming, relaxing accommodation, en suite bathrooms

Local ground transportation for 4 days

Daily continental breakfast, 2 lunches, 3 dinners

Course lectures and sessions with truffle hunter

Cooking lesson with experienced truffle cook

Does not include

Airfares

Travel and cancellation insurance

Wine and drinks other than those served with meals, additional meals

Personal expenses such as telephone, mini-bar, etc.


Meeting points

Where: Pisa airport, Pisa Centrale train station
When: not later than 14.30

Recommended international travel

Nearest airport: Pisa

Airlines from UK: British Airways, EasyJet, Ryanair

Airlines from other countries: You may have to fly to another European city and take a connecting flight or train to Pisa Centrale. There are good low-cost flights from many European cities. There are better train connections from Roma Termini (about 3.5 hrs) than from Milan.
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If you need to travel at another time, a taxi can be arranged at your own expense.


Departure points

Where: Pisa airport, Pisa Centrale train station
When: no earlier than 10.00

If you need to travel at another time, a taxi can be arranged at your own expense.


Dress

Informal. Jeans are acceptable everywhere. Good walking shoes and rain gear required.

Weather in November
6–15˚C/43–59˚F, precipitation 122 mm/4.8 in

Weather in June
16–29˚C / 61–84˚F, precipitation 23 mm / 1 in

Itinerary is subject to change if necessary due to weather or agricultural conditions or other events outside our control.

​To request a booking form email info@sapori-e-saperi.com
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  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Resources
  • Tours
    • Small Group Tours >
      • Celebrating Sardinia
      • Tuscan Heritage
      • Giants of Sardinia
      • Autumn in Tuscany
      • Tastes & Textiles: Woad & Wool
      • Tastes & Textiles: Hanging by a Thread
      • Tastes & Textiles: Wine to Dye For
      • Tastes & Textiles: Sea Silk in Sardinia
    • Tastes and Textiles
    • Day Adventures
  • Courses
    • Advanced Salumi Course Tuscany
    • Advanced Salumi Course Bologna-Parma
    • Art & Science of Gelato
    • Artisan Bread Course Tuscany
    • Theory & Practice of Italian Cheese
    • Mozzarella & its Cousins
    • Mozzarella Consultancy
    • Olive Oil Tree to Table
    • Truffle Course
  • Booking
    • Enquiry
    • Booking Conditions
    • Covid-19
  • What people say
  • Blogs
  • Contact