Truffière La Baume Saint Antoine-Boissieux

Truffle Hunting in France Is Famous for Good Reason

"A spontaneous detour led me to a family-run truffle estate in the Rhône Valley about an hour south of Lyon, where fifth-generation farmers Karine and Franck Boissieux, along with their children Emma and Lucas, welcomed me to an old stone house and a visitor center filled with antique truffling paraphernalia and a dining room for guests. Franck opened the heavy white wooden door to the centuries-old truffle cave, where truffles rest at low humidity and cool temperatures; during World War II it stored food for resistance fighters, served as a bomb shelter for workers from Romans-sur-Isère, and sheltered a 7-year-old Jewish Austrian refugee, Gitta Ryle, who is now 93 and still close with the family. Out in the orchards—rows of strategically planted trees that resemble an apple orchard—their dogs Lulu and Cecilia raced ahead, noses down, paw-tapping to signal finds; I even dug up a walnut-sized truffle by hand after Lulu’s tap, its earthy perfume conjuring visions of buttered tagliatelle. Back in the cave I admired a 1970s truffle-washing device and tasted fresh shavings and Franck’s homemade truffle ice cream, reminiscent of cookies and cream with shaved French black truffles. Guests can purchase fresh truffles by the kilogram at market price—about half or less of what they cost stateside—and most of Maison Boissieux’s harvest is exported to the United States via New York-based wholesale grocer Céline-Gourmet Attitude. They offer truffle discovery tours that include a walk through the orchards and a truffle-centric meal; visits start at 59€, can be booked online, and private groups of up to 20 are available, with peak-season slots recommended at least two months in advance; wear shoes you don’t mind muddying, and there’s free parking on site. I arrived giddy for a dog-centric bucket-list outing and left feeling moved by the place’s brave history and the joyful teamwork between people and dogs that makes truffles so rare and valuable." - Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner