What’s so hot about white truffles versus black ones?
White is ten times more intense! Black is around all year, while white is only from November to Christmas. And you can find the black ones in Italy and France, in a lot of regions. You can only find the white ones in Piedmont and a couple of areas in the middle of Italy. Finally, black costs around 10,000 baht per kilogram while white ones are 100,000 baht.

You are from Alba, in Piedmont. What’s your personal relationship to truffles?
It’s very difficult actually to go truffle hunting. People keep their secrets carefully. So I only went on a hunt once. When I was 10 years old, I had my first taste of truffles. It’s so intense, it’s hard to appreciate as a kid. Now truffles are huge in Piedmont. There’s so much marketing. They bring in celebrities, royalty, movie stars. But you know, the truffle is not the king or queen of the kitchen. It’s important. It’s very rare. But without onions and garlic, you die. Every dish, every sauce—you need to have them. Don’t forget the basics.

How do you cook truffles?
There’s a chemical reaction with eggs so it’s one of the most wonderful combinations. Forget fish. You need animal products like beef or cheese. Or winter vegetables, like artichoke or cauliflower. In fact truffles should be cooked very simply, with very few ingredients. You don’t want to lose the taste. For me, my favorite dish is the risotto with white truffle (B2,400) combined with a very nice bottle of red wine like Gaja.