Truffle Love (2020)

Directed by: Jascha de Wilde, Ben Hendriks | 84 minutes | documentary

Forget pigs and dogs. You look for truffles by flying. In the documentary ‘Truffle Love’ we step into the world of truffle hunters, traders, growers and chefs who are completely dedicated to this rare mushroom.

With a simple twig, the truffle hunters walk through the forests and meadows of Provence in search of the ‘black diamond’. Next to the roots of oaks, for example, because they like to grow there. Young pine trees are resolutely pulled out of the ground, because they pose a threat to truffles. Just like global warming, by the way. A good truffle needs stress in the form of cold and thunder and the changing climate could cause the truffle to become extinct.

The twigs are constantly tapping the ground and for good reason. Because if flies suddenly fly up due to tapping on the forest floor, it could be an indication that truffles are hidden. The hunters fall to their knees and bring a handful of soil to their noses. With or without truffle present? It’s a gamble. Then dig and usually wild boars have been ahead of them. But if the hunter has a prize, the catch is euphoric and even addictive, he says.

Once smelled and tasted, you will not forget the smell of truffle. Even blindfolded you recognize this strong earthy, gas and musky perfume from thousands. It transports you. It is well known that truffles are rare. Sometimes it takes 20 years for the moldy climate in the soil to produce this black gold, but usually the long wait has been for nothing, says Catherine Mure, expert and trader for chef Jacques Marcon (3 Michelin stars). She once planted oak trees to grow truffles herself, but after two decades not a single fungus emerged. Maddening, because with other growers the harvest was rich after all this time. Nature cannot be forced, as it turns out, and thus the mystery lives on.

As well known as the rarity is the value of truffles. They are precious. A good deep black truffle (not brown or grey) with white veins costs €1200 per kilo. There is also white gold, which does not mean Limburg white asparagus. The white truffle is the grand dame of this mushroom species and even rarer than its black brother. The largest white truffle to date (approx. 2 kilos) was auctioned at Sotheby’s in 2014 for € 50,000. These amounts sound like music to the ears of so-called poachers. They visit the nurseries without permission that lie waiting like open treasure chests in Provence. Fortunately, the local police regularly check the orchards and often catch the truffle thieves. If they find anything at all.

‘Truffle Love’, the new documentary by Jascha de Wilde and Ben Hendriks after ‘Passage’ from 2017, shows the intense journey from idolizing, searching, harvesting and trading to the kitchens of renowned French restaurants and even the church. It is a pity that there are no scent cartridges for televisions, because a documentary like this asks to stimulate the olfactory organ with the perfume of this special fungus and the sweet landscape of Provence.