Mad About Tuscany is in its 3rd year now, and some of our original guests from the 2012 tours have already returned. Other guests have expressed interest in booking for next year. So I have been out researching wonderful new experiences to add to the itinerary for future and returning guests.

We had a great day truffle hunting with friends Gabriella and Saverio at their Bianconi truffle farm in Umbria. We met in the plantation in a small group of 6 and went searching for the "black gold" with 2 highly trained dogs and 3 masters. We were extremely successful finding just under 500gm of black truffle and was lucky enough to dig out the biggest, thanks to the sensitive noses of the truffle dogs, trained to find the earthy truffle scent.

Next we explored a medieval village and its underground city, with an aperitivo in the piazza.  We returned to Bianconi to join Gabriella's tour of the factory where all the truffles are prepared for sale or made into one of the many wonderful truffle products. The range of products was fantastic, from the classic truffle butters and salsas to dried pastas, biscuits and dressings. Gabriella gave us a cooking demonstration and allowed us to taste various beautiful truffle infused products - delicious!

We sat down to a banquet dinner, where everything was made with truffle, even the dessert!

Great day out enjoying the company of wonderful hosts Gabriella and Saverio, great food, scenery and very informative too.

Since getting home I have made a soufflé with grated truffle on top, here is the recipe, enjoy!