The Hour

The Hotel Missoni in Edinburgh has recently started serving a five course truffle menu. At around £200 each, white truffles certainly aren’t cheap, so man about town Bruce Devlin went to the hotel to see what all the fuss is about.

Bruce met head chef Mattia Camorani in the kitchen. The first thing he noticed about the truffles was their distinct smell:

“Some people say they smell like a mixture between garlic and mushroom or cheese,” Mattia told him. Bruce thought more along the lines of cheese and feet.

White truffles grow underground so need to be cleaned before use. They can’t be washed directly under the tap or all the flavour will be lost, so Mattia used a nail brush to give one a good scrub. “I don’t spend this long on my body,” Bruce joked.

Once all the dirt had been scrubbed off, the white truffle was grated over some risotto. Bruce took to the streets to carry out a taste test on members of the public to see what they thought of the expensive dish.

When told of the cost of one truffle, one man said he would like more for the money, but most people thought the dish was delicious. One woman told Bruce: “We got truffled to death in Croatia about a year ago and there was too much, but this is actually nice.”

Bruce wasn’t particularly impressed: “I think you’re very lucky to have been truffled to death,” he cheekily told the woman. “Some people can’t even afford a tin of spaghetti hoops.”

The taste test was a success, but Bruce wasn’t convinced: “I’m going to head home to my ready meal for one,” he said before heading off and leaving Mattia alone with his expensive dish.