THAT'S US
MY DOG -RUBI-
AND I
-NINA HOEFEMEIER-
Growing up with dogs, it was always clear to me that my own children should experience the same. When the time was right, I decided to reduce my job as an architect and started to inform myself about dog breeds, trying to find the best fit for our family. The wonderful character of this breed - Lagotto Romagnolo - really impressed us: active, friendly, motivated, robust and very family-related.
In December 2019, Rubi became our new family member. A little dog with a cute, curly head who smelled the taste of truffles for the first time just a few weeks after birth.
After investing the year 2020 to reach a good dogs education and learn more about cognitive activities such as nose work and trailing, I decided to go deeper into specific nose work, making out of 2021 our truffle hunter training year. The results were amazing: Rubi worked with great dedication and commitment! We successfully trained motivation, perseverance and searching - with real truffles -, had a lot of fun and could strengthen our relationship even more. We quickly became an unbeatable team, very impatient to start the new truffle season and prove our skills!
Finding the right places for truffle hunting involves lots of knowledge and trials. I started researching and tried to learn as much as possible about host trees and vegetation, soil properties and many other fundamental characteristics in order to get the dog to the right places.
The truffle season started at the end of June 2022 and success did not wait long! Since then we have been unstoppable and by the beginning of October 2022 we could find approx. 2.5 kg of black truffles!
Truffles have now become our main occupation. We are incredibly happy to find the bulbs, promote them and help people to learn a bit more about these wonderful black diamonds! Just one thing will continue to be our secret: the places where we find it!
BLACK DIAMONDS
"... THE TRUFFLE IS THE VERY DIAMOND OF GASTRONOMY"
- Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin -
Switzerland... not only cheese!!
From Lake Geneva to Lake Constance, Switzerland is a great truffle country! Regional and fresh, these nature treasures come straight from the soil on to your plate, making every dish very special! Whether pasta, steak, risotto, pizza, eggs or melted cheese... everything gets wonderful! Even sweetmouths get their fill: in combination with the soft notes of vanilla, heavy cream and merengue you will get the best and eccentric Mont Blanc dessert, just heavenly!
“Presently, we were aware of an odour gradually coming towards us, something musky, fiery, savoury, mysterious, - a hot drowsy smell, that lulls the senses, and yet enflames them, -
the truffles were coming.”
- William Makepeace Thackeray -
THE HUNTING
A "TARTUFO" (the nose) NEEDED TO FIND
ANOTHER "TARTUFO" (the truffle)!
Truffles are known to be a nose thing! Without wonderfully fine dog noses we would have been denied the pleasure of a truffle. It may not be a coincidence that a dogs nose in Italian language has the same name as the truffle! The "tartufi", whether nose or tuber, cannot be separated from each other!
On the truffle hunt, one "tartufo" is necessary to find the other "tartufo" until they find each other.
