| I don't tend to read "The Times of India". Don't get me wrong. I'm sure it's a great newspaper. It's just not the sort of thing I bump into in Hackney - not even in my local tandoori restaurant. But due to the miracle of the world-wide web, I found this in the paper's pullout section "The Economics Times" the other day. 5 kg rare White Alba. The gavel came down (not on the truffle, fortunately) at £82,056 (US$160,000) to Hong Kong property tycoon Sir Gordon Wu. |  Head Chef Umberto Bombana of the Ritz-Carlton checks the smelly monster |
| The auction, at Castle Grinzane Cavour in Italy, was globalised via satellite links to Hong Kong and Paris and resembled a sale of Picassos, German teddy-bears or John Lennon memorabilia. At least when you buy a 1929 Château Margaux you can keep the cork in the bottle until a suitable occasion arises. Wu's "ugly and odoriferous lump", on the other hand, had to be consumed within three days and was duly served up over a five-course banquet hosted by the billionaire at the Hong Kong Ritz-Carlton. Considered a delicacy on a par with caviar and foie gras, la truffe is to be found on the menu of every restaurant in the world with a Michelin plaque outside and many other eateries. |
 | It's a strange beast, differing vastly in appearance, size and shape according to species. The best known types are the black, white and Chinese varieties, but due to the creature's subterranean habitat there are probably many varieties yet to be sniffed out.
) was for him to expose his truffle-like podge and wiggle it about while making gurgling noises. Thus was born the name "the truffle shuffle". |
| The recent auction and accompanying banquet may have been a big hit, but not all truffle-related stories have a happy ending. Just ask Andy Needham, Head Chef at Zafferano. The reason this week's news feature caught my eye was that I still chuckle when remembering an article about , that I read during my first year in college (yes, it was that Paltrow!).
. the delay was too long. The defunct delicacy was buried "with full honours" in Andy Needham's back garden and the only thing that Gwyneth and her co-owners got to eat was their syndicate loss - a cool £28,000. |
| So... the relevance of all this is that, while in the walk-in fridge at work the other day, I happened to stumble across this little fella, or should I say this very big fella.
|  |
| And the answer was. .. Nobody seems too sure! After having a little look on the internet, I've come to the conclusion that it could be a "puffball mushroom". This enormous spherical fungus apparently belongs to the Lycoperdales order and has spores hidden underneath a layer of tough outer skin. If anyone out there does know for sure what this species is, please let me know. Curiouser and curiouser.. . |
Duas semanas há, uma trufa foi comprado para mais maior preço em todo de história.Assim, o outro dia fui excitada muito quando encontrei uma trufa enorme no refrigerador no restaurante onde eu trabalho. Mas eu tinha feito infelizmente um erro, e o objeto era somente um cogumelo gigante!
Thanks to everyone who visited my blog since I started in August 2006. Special thanks to those who took time to comment and those who offered much appreciated advice and encouragement.
It's great to be a small part of the global on-line village of people who love food. I hope you enjoyed your visits here and I'll do my best to keep you informed and entertained in future. Trig.
I have a love of food and cooking that grows stronger each day. I've already been incredibly lucky to spend time working alongside fantastic chefs, including Cyrus Todiwala, Daniel Crow, Antony Worrall Thompson, Raymond Blanc, Gary Klaner, Peter Gordon and Stuart Gillies.
My ambition after graduation is to travel globally, working in a variety of gastronomic cultures to gain culinary knowledge and experience.
When I'm ready, I want to open a restaurant and do my bit to help Britain establish itself at the forefront of world cuisine. I'd also like to write and to broadcast on culinary matters. Later on, when I've developed my own career, I want to help young chefs make careers in the industry just like I did.
I owe a great deal to many fantastic people who have helped me. I look forward to passing that help on to the next generation.
I am building a collection of notes on the I use.
Today's spice is: I have visited and sampled some of their cuisines. I've plenty more to experience. I've started a list of where I've eaten.
I'm puzzled by trainee chefs I meet who don't seem to like eating. I am studying for a Professional Chef Diploma. are my current qualifications.
and I both look a bit worse for wear, but you can be assured that the wine tasting was purely for professional reasons and I did spit it out after tasting, of course. Well, most of it at least!
.. and I've not looked back since!
Both my mum and dad were brought up in relatively poor families and missed out on many things that they were later able to give their own children. But they always understood the difference between the price of things and the value of things, so they never held back when it came to making sure we had valuable experiences.
I want to reflect this in my cooking.
summed up exactly how I feel when he wrote in : "There are many chefs cooking beautiful, authentic regional food..
. I love to eat it but I don't want to cook it..
. The world as a whole excites me more than a region defined by political boundaries." My CV is attached as a .
pdf file in the right-hand column. Trig.
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