A Truffle Hunt In Provence

A Cautionary Tale of Thieves, Horny Pigs, and Expensive Tubers

SECRECY IS EVERYTHING

We met Johann Pepin at ‘Les Pastras‘, his sprawling organic farm located on a desolate mountain top near the Provencal village of Cadenet under the cloak of secrecy. He cautioned us that “thieves were everywhere”, before instructing us to lock our car doors and gather down below. I must admit I felt a bit uneasy as he slipped a black hood loosely over my head, gently guiding me into the back of an unmarked black van.

Moments later we arrived at the edge of an unnamed field in an unnamed town in an unnamed country for what was surely going to be an epic truffle hunt. Such is the way with truffle hunters where secrecy is everything.

Johann Pepin explaining the ins and outs of truffle hunting.

Secrecy is also common. The exact locations of the parcels of dirt where truffles are uncovered is often guarded from even close friends because a select patch of forest can often translate into a consistent source of wealth over a lifetime. — excerpt from Ryan Jacobs, ‘The Dark Side of the Truffle Trade’, The Atlantic January 15th, 2014

THE TRUFFLE SPEECH

We sat huddled together on wobbly benches still shaken by our experiences. In front of us were several neat rows of immature oak trees…