Maison De La Truffe: Black Diamond Of Kitchen

Probably, you won’t be delighted by the uneven and even gnarly appearance of truffles. However for a chef, these lumpy roots are as worthy as the Spoonmaker’s Diamond at the Topkapı Palace.

The reason behind why the truffles are that extravagantly expensive (some of them are sold for 3000€ per kg) is that they are rarely found in nature and when found, it is not easy to dig them out. Truffles grow 15-20 cm underground beneath the oak trees out in the forest. For truffle smell excites male boars, generally they become the ones who eat the treasure. For this reason, although boars are quite successful at finding truffles; since they might eat them, the task is given to the specially-trained hounds. For that matter, unlike other types of mushroom which are collected without any further ado, truffles are literally hunted. Chasing the hounds, the truffle hunters are probably the most tightlipped people on earth, since they do not disclose where they find the truffles, ever, even to their families, in order to secure the quarry for the next year’s yield.

The most outstanding feature of truffles are their genuine fragrance. Just to get a grasp of how important their smell is to people, you should take a walk around the special fairs held in Alba around October-November and see how truffle lovers watch the empty counters after the truffles are literally auctioned to public. That’s because the best truffles generally go to the popular restaurants and chefs, and the truffle lovers are left empty-handed; nevertheless this does bring them down since the pleasant truffle fragrance sticks with them as they have the liberty to take a stroll around the fair.

The French Perigord and the Italian Alba are two popular truffle species in the market. Also known as black winter mushroom, Perigord smells like forest with the hints of wine cellars and slightly anise. For its aroma to become more defined, Perigord is warmed up a bit before it gets served unlike Alba which is served totally raw. As the real feast starts with the nose thanks to its smell, truffle is generally served or cooked with spaghetti or eggs or something without strong smell or aroma which would overshadow the truffles.

You can find truffles in many Parisian restaurants. However, Maison de la Truffee would be the best choice as its menu is specialized in truffles.

Having been breathing life into truffles since 1932 with its short yet satisfying menu, Maison de la Truffee has been one of my favorite culinary destinations as I drop by from time to time. While it was a modestly small restaurant with 7-8 tables back in the past with a cozy atmosphere for those limited number of people who were informed about the restaurant; with the rising number of its customers in parallel to its improving quality, it was no longer able to meet the increasing demand and another Maison de la Truffee was finally opened in 2009 in Merbeuf. As the one in Madeleine is popular among tourists nowadays, you’re recommended to pay a visit to Maison de la Truffee Merbeuf instead so as to spare yourself from the crowd.

The restaurant is run by one of the oldest truffle-hunter families in France. Whatever you get from the menu which spans from dishes, to olive oil, to the chocolate that accompanies the coffee that follows the meal, you have the liberty to choose what sort of truffle you’d like your food to come with.

My top favorites from the menu is fried eggs with Alba truffle, the enhanced version of a migrant taste from the bachelors’ dinners, and tagliatelle with truffle cream.

The other dishes from the menu which carries the taste of the truffle to another level are crispy truffle pizzas with fresh greens, hamburgers filled generously, and pata negra (iberico) jamon next to the eggs, a 12-36 month-aged flavor from Spanish cuisine.

When you drop by the restaurant, folks, I recommend you to take a look at the small store in the restaurant where you will find black truffle, Alba truffle, Burgundy truffle as well as a variety of cheese, olive oil and chocolate boosted with winter or summer truffles.

Bon appétit and enjoy the taste of life…

Maison de la Truffe

www.maison-de-la-truffe.com

14 Rue Marbeuf, 75008 Paris/ Fransa

+33 1 53 57 41 00