Paris

I bought my first truffle at Terre de Truffe ('Truffleland') about 2 years ago. The Rue Vignon shop in the upmarket Paris food district around Place de la Madeleine is a copycat from the older Maison de la Truffe ('The Truffle House'). Both have a small everything-with-truffles restaurant in the back and a counter selling truffle-laced delicacies. They also sell the real thing when they have it.

First stop: Truffleland: Although I had been very pleased with my Terre de Truffe black truffle - my first ever, I wasn't impressed with the bulging personality cult about its owner, 'Bruno des Truffes', with its altar by the entrance with pictures and books and quotes about truffles. The Terre de Truffe guy showed me a plastic box filled with black truffles in the window. I said I was looking for a 40 gr truffle and we both started rummaging in the box. Very disappointing. All I could find were disfigured truffles straight of a leprosarium. Some had big drops of condensation on them, others a start of white fur. None smelled anything. 'Ah but the taste is not related to the smell Mister' said the shopping attendant.