Truffle time

Jacques Chibois hosts truffle fair

Next to the white truffle, grown just over the border in Piedmont, Italy, the Périgord is one of the most desired mushrooms in the world of haute cuisine, to which Jacques Chibois, from the Bastide Saint-Antoine in Grasse, belongs. At the beginning of January, Chibois will host, for the 15th time, the annual market of black truffles in the village of Le Rouret.

Over this weekend, the ecological nature of Périgord production will be promoted, because if there's an agricultural product that can truly be called sustainable it's the truffle. To cultivate the oak trees that, in this region, the truffles typically grow at the foot of, is a very environmentally friendly way of using land. And for those farmers with patience - it'll be 15 years before the first harvest - it also brings rich rewards. Still, within the Alpes-Maritimes where land is rare and expensive, few hectares are given over to the Périgord and this is why the Conseil General grants subsidies to those framers willing to wait.

For the last 30 years, the villagers in Le Rouret have been patiently experimenting with the truffle growing process on their communal land. On January 9th you can visit the village for a guided tour, free of charge, to see the cultivation process for yourself.