Pursuits
Top Truffles at $1,200 a Pound Mean Mushrooming Costs for Chefs
- Prices soar 67% after dry spell in Italy's main growing area
- Just a shaving of white truffle quadruples cost of pasta dish
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At some of London’s fanciest restaurants, there’s little profit in selling one of the world’s most expensive foods: white truffles.
The mushrooms -- usually sold in shavings by the gram -- fetch about $1,200 a pound wholesale, up 67 percent from last year and the highest since 2012. Dry weather in Italy led to a smaller harvest and made the seasonal delicacy as costly as an ounce of gold. For chefs like Angela Hartnett, truffles are so pricey that she forgoes a profit to serve them.