It’s truffle season with white truffles at their best from now until December, and winter black truffles peaking in December. These fungi are prized the world over for their fragrance and earthy, rich flavour. Currently, they’re fetching prices of up to $7,000/kilogram.
An Annual Ode to Truffle
The truffle was the star of CinCin’s Annual Truffle Dinner on November 6th. Tickets for the 16th annual dinner, which cost $225, were sold out. Guests indulge in a five-course menu showcasing truffle, paired with exquisite wines selected by CinCin’s Wine Director, Shane Taylor. I was invited to the media preview of the CinCin dinner where the prized ingredient is showcased in each course, including dessert.
To start, we enjoyed three bites: a house-made potato chip topped with truffled potato puree and caviar, a wild mushroom and truffle arancini, and a chicken and duck liver pate crostini garnished with grated truffle. What followed was an Italian inspired truffle adventure! As an antipasti, we had a delightfully light black winter truffle and fontina sformato which is essentially an Italian soufflé. The white truffle from Alba shined in the lobster and scallop ravioli dish, while the black truffle from Piedmonte shared the spotlight in a risotto with wild BC matsutake mushrooms. The aroma of the matsutake’s even rivalled that of the truffle – it is hard to impress just how fragrant fresh truffles already are on their own. Indeed, the smell in the private dining room by the end of the dinner was intoxicating. I swear when I got home, my hair smelled of truffle.
Seasonal Shifts but Still a Menu Staple
Mark your calendars for next year because CinCin’s dinner is the best way to fully indulge in truffles prepared by an expert team. All of the tasting details are considered down to the wine pairings. You can trust that the utmost care has been taken in sourcing the best ingredients from around the world, truffles included. Indeed, even if you didn’t get tickets to this year’s dinner, you can still stop into CinCin for a truffle dish or two. As Executive Chef of CinCin Andrew Richardson assures, “At CinCin, truffles are on our menu for at least three-quarters of the year.”
Depending what time of year it is, Chef Andrew elaborates, the kitchen uses “white (Alba), black (Burgundy and Périgord), or winter truffles” which “can be found in our meat and fish dishes, in our house-made pasta, or shaved over gnocchi and risotto.” Even the aromatic and flavourful truffle trimmings are routinely used in butter, vinaigrettes, stocks, pasta stuffing, and sauces.
Luxury Meets Casual
There’s another option if you’re looking to taste some truffle this month. For the second year in a row, Mount Pleasant Vintage & Provisions has launched Democratize Truffles! As the name of the promotion suggests, Mount Pleasant Vintage & Provisions thinks truffles should be for everyone. In fact, they’re providing a luxury truffle experience at a more affordable price point. From now until mid-November, guests have the opportunity to try fresh, premium truffles, measured by the gram, at cost.
Truffles can be added to any menu item at Mount Pleasant Vintage & Provisions. Yes, they make a natural addition to the hand-chopped Beef Tartare or Wood Fired Hangar Steak, but why not have some fun? I suggest getting some shaved over your Costlo Hours Hot Dog or even on the Tater Tots. In fact, taters, truffles, and cheese fondue sounds like a fantastic feast to me. And, who needs wine pairings when you can pair your truffle taters or tartare with My Bisexual Girlfriend or Beeswax Martini?
While truffles will always be a pricy ingredient, Mount Pleasant Vintage & Provisions is making them as affordable as possible. “We believe that the finest ingredients should be accessible to all, and truffles—once reserved for fine dining—are now available to enhance any dish on our menu at an unbeatable price,” proclaims Chef Sebastian Toro. The flame-grill used at Mount Pleasant Vintage actually creates a similar flavour profile to CinCin’s own wood grill. Their retro comfort food menu lends itself well to the funky addition of famous fungi.
The Real Deal
I do believe the price of these renowned mushrooms is justified. Not just because of their impressively powerful aroma and taste, but also because of their relative scarcity. I do also believe that they are an ingredient you should taste if you haven’t yet had the chance. The real deal just doesn’t compare to the truffle oil usually used to season fries. Whether you’re indulging in an immersive fine-dining experience, or stopping by a neighbourhood resto-bar for a bite, a little truffle goes a long way and is worth the splurge.
