About two weeks ago Ed got the invited by winemaker Birk O’Halloran of Iconic Wines to hop in the car along with Leslie Merinoff-Kwasnieski of Matchbook Distilling and to head up to El Dorado County and hunt for truffles.

Staci O’Toole is working on building a hazelnut orchard in El Dorado County for the purpose of cultivating truffles.   It is very likely that California Truffles will soon be a reality in the culinary scene.  Pioneers like Staci are are taking the risks and laying the groundwork for future truffles farmers.

Staci’s works really closely with her two Italian Truffle dogs, Mila and Tone,  full blooded Lagotto Romagnolo.  The dogs are really cute.  They are also amazing at locating the fungi growing on the roots of the trees.

The dogs sniff out and mark the spots.  Staci finishes up the dig with a really cool spade.

Leslie shows off a truffle.

The future looks bright for truffles in California.  Check out the San Francisco Chronicle article on Truffles in California.

Sometime soon we will have a dinner celebrating truffles here at Magpie, we will certainly have Staci and Mila here so we can hear their story first hand.