ON THE HUNT

One of a handful of truffle farmers in the UK, Mike Collison grows the fungi in his Shropshire orchard, seeking them out with the help of his dog, Oscar

“You get lost in your own world in the truffle orchard,” says Mike Collison. “It’s peaceful, cool under the trees, magical — and you never know what you’re going to find.”

Working their way along neat rows of oak, hazel, pine and beech trees, Mike and his specially bred, truffle-hunting dog, Oscar, an Italian Lagotto Romagnolo, are searching for burgundy truffles — one of the world’s most expensive, most sought-after fungi. Oscar, nose to the ground, paws when he’s sniffed one out, indicating where Mike should dig.

“They’re knobbly-looking things,” says Mike. “They can be the size of a pea or an orange, close to the surface or three to four inches down. At this time of year [June], we’ll harvest two to three kilos in 40 minutes — after that, Oscar’s had enough and so have I.” The truffles are then washed, graded, trimmed of any overripe parts and sent to chefs around Shropshire.

Mike, who runs Shropshire Truffles with his wife Michelle, first tried truffle hunting in France’s Loire Valley in 2006, and was inspired to set up a farm of his own. In 2008, the couple planted 1,500 trees in their four-acre orchard, overlooking the village of Stapleton. Each had been inoculated with truffle spores; as the saplings grew, the fungi worked through the roots from which they would eventually grow. And although Mike believes his is now the most high-yielding truffle orchard in the country, the couple had a nail-biting 10 years waiting for their first harvest.

“I wasn’t sure if I was planting something that would grow into a business or just an oak forest,” says Mike. “A friend with a truffle-hunting dog came after year seven and didn’t find many. Then in year nine, a badger got in and dug loads up!” A decade in, Oscar was introduced, and after a slow start became a truffle-hunting “machine”. “When he’s found a good one he’ll roll on to his tummy,” says Mike.

Harvest begins in June, when the truffle flavour is mushroomy and the flesh inside still white. By August, they’re darker and with a more intense and fragrant aroma and brown-white marbling inside. “I like mine grated onto steak or a poached egg, but lots of chefs we supply use it on pasta or in risottos,” says Mike.

Now the wait for his truffles is over, Mike can enjoy the magic of his orchard. “Oscar and I sometimes stop, sit under a tree and take it all in — I’m quite proud of what I’ve created.” Shropshire Truffles sells truffles, truffle products and experience days online. shropshiretruffles.co.uk Jez Fredenburgh

Left: Mike and his dog, Oscar, in the orchard

A truffle nugget from the morning forage