Truffle plan­ta­ti­ons. Black gold also „flows“ in Switzerland. Truffles grow wild; fin­ding them is still con­side­red a stro­ke of luck. However, to give luck a hel­ping hand, they have also been cul­ti­va­ted in plan­ta­ti­ons for some time now—for about 20 years in French-spea­king Switzerland and for ten years in German-spea­king Switzerland. The Burgundy truffle—or Tuber Uncinatum—is curr­ent­ly in sea­son. „This truff­le has a beau­tiful, full aro­ma,“ explains Stefan Spahr, President of the Swiss Truffle Producers Association. One per­cei­ves notes of mush­rooms, por­ci­ni, and forest flo­or. This is quite dif­fe­rent from the famous Périgord truff­le or the white truff­le. „One does­n’t real­ly speak of more or less inten­se; they sim­ply have com­ple­te­ly dif­fe­rent fla­vor profiles.“

Fresh from the truff­le farm. It can take a few years for a truff­le to ripen. Truffle dogs—any breed is sui­ta­ble for this job—can smell it. „Ripeness has not­hing to do with size. For retail, they should be at least the size of a ping-pong ball; in gastro­no­my, the size of a hen’s egg is in high demand,“ says Spahr, who cul­ti­va­tes truf­fles with his wife Linda (lar­ge image abo­ve) in Büren a.A. Regionality is play­ing an incre­a­sing­ly important role in restau­rants, and the same applies to truf­fles. „We are recei­ving more and more inqui­ries from top chefs for Swiss truf­fles,“ says Luca Bianchi, Co-Managing Director at deli­ca­cy dea­ler Bianchi. Together with the Truffle Producers Association, they have estab­lished the „Trüffel vom Hof“ (Truffles from the Farm) plat­form. Anyone orde­ring here is gua­ran­teed fresh truf­fles, as they are only har­ve­sted after the order is pla­ced. The truff­le pro­du­cer who can deli­ver the requi­red quan­ti­ty takes on the order.

As a jus, fil­ling, or pure. One per­son who likes to indul­ge when it comes to truf­fles is Fabrizio Zanetti. The 16-point chef from the Suvretta House in St. Moritz has just bought a kilo and imme­dia­te­ly has to send a new order. „In terms of taste and color, the Burgundy truff­le from Switzerland is very attrac­ti­ve,“ says Zanetti. The truff­le is used for cold dis­hes, but it can also be used in sau­ces or as a fil­ling for poul­try. „You can also make a jus from the truff­le.“ However, he notes that this is an expen­si­ve plea­su­re, though only a very small amount is nee­ded at a time.

Grate gene­rous­ly. The cur­rent dish at the „Grand Restaurant“? „Venison—also from Bianchi—with cele­ry purée, Brussels sprouts, kale, and pars­nips. And of cour­se, truf­fles.“ This comes in three dif­fe­rent forms: as a sau­ce, in the purée, and gene­rous­ly shaved over the top. „When you ser­ve truf­fles, you should­n’t be stin­gy.“ Isn’t that a bit too much of a good thing? „No,“ says Zanetti. „Fresh truff­le is inde­ed inten­se, but you get that beau­tiful mush­room fla­vor.“ Under no cir­cum­stances should you work with truff­le oil. „That con­ta­ins everything—except truffle.“