Truffle time in Lot
© T.Joly
Fine dining with great wines, cooking classes, walks through truffle groves, harvest demonstrations,… During the black truffle harvest season several events centered around this delicacy are organized throughout the Lot department.

[ Practical ]

Getting there
- By road
580 km from Paris on autoroutes A6a, A10, A71 et A20.
- By train
Intercités train from Paris Austerlitz to Cahors. The journey takes from 5 h 10 to 5 h 45.
- By plane
Air France flight to Toulouse, then car rental to reach Cahors located 110 km away.
Hop Airlinair flight to Brive-la-Gaillarde, then car rental to reach Cahors located 100 km away.
Lodging
- Hotels
La Chartreuse, in Cahors
Le Terminus, in Cahors
Hôtel Jean XXII, in Cahors
Le Vinois, in Caillac
Château de Mercues
Clau del Loups, in Anglars Juillac
- Bed and Breakfast
Château La Roussille, near Cahors
Château Prieuré La Condamine, in Parnac
Domaine Delmas, in Parnac
Le Mas Azémar, in Mercues
Restaurants
Le Marché, in Cahors
L’O à la Bouche, in Cahors
Le Ballandre, in Cahors
Lou Bourdie, in Bach
Au Rince Cochon, in Limogne-en-Quercy
Le Gindreau, in Saint Médard Catus
Le Vinois, in Caillac
La Table de Haute Serre, in Cieurac
Getting around
It is necessary to have a car
Cahors Malbec Lounge
Place François Mitterrand, 46000 Cahors
- Diners d’Exception : €90
- Information and bookings : 0685793294, contact@malbeclounge.com
Le Gindreau
- Truffle brunch : 145 €
- information and booking : 0565362227, www.legindreau.com
Allée des Vignes
Information and booking : 0565116187, www.alleedesvignes.com
Information
- Cahors wines
www.vindecahors.fr
- Cahors Tourist Office
Tel : 0565532065
www.tourisme-cahors.fr
- Lot Tourist Office
Tel : 0565350709
www.tourisme-lot.com
From December to early March the Lot department beats to the rhythm of one of its most famous productions : the black truffle – or Tuber Melanosporum – that is harvested during this period. On this occasion the town of Cahors hosts the “Cahors Malbec & Truffle Festival” a series of events organized in January and February that celebrate this subterranean mushroom sought after by epicures as well as Cahors wines. The 2018 edition features four “Diner d’Exception” comprising truffle-based dishes served along with great wines at the Malbec Lounge of the Villa Cahors Malbec, headquarters and showcase of the AOC’s producers.


Table de Haute Serre © T.Joly
 Special menus
On Monday January 22nd, the menu will be created by famous chefs David Blanco and Pierre Basso and the three following Mondays respectively by chefs Thierry Pszonka, Pierre Creuzet and Pascal Bardet. There will be truffles on sale as well. In addition, during these three months many restaurants have special menus comprising truffle-based dishes. Let’s name Le Marché, La Chatreuse and l’O à la Bouche in Cahors, the Château de Mercues in Mercues, Le Lion d'Or in Lalbenque, Le Gindreau in Saint-Médard where chef Pascal Bardet offers a truffle brunch, Lou Bourdie in Bach that is famous among locals for its truffle omelet and so on. At the Allée des Vignes restaurant in Carjac, chef Claude-Emmanuel Robin join forces with truffle expert Lionel Durand to organize truffle weekends on January 27th-28th and on February 3rd-4th.



Searching for truffles © T.Joly
 Truffle harvest
Program features a “cavage”, name given to the action of searching for truffles that is carried out with specially trained dogs or pigs locating them thanks to their sense of smell, truffle-cooking demonstration and a dinner made up of truffle dishes. If you want to learn more about truffle, go to the South East of the department, near Limogne-en-Quercy and Lalbenque, the main area of production where you can also attend a demonstration of “cavage”. The truffle grower also explains under which trees this mushrooms grows, how to create a truffle grove, what is the best-suited climate and why the annual harvest has fallen a dramatically during the last century. These two villages also host the only two wholesale markets in Lot. They take place on Friday in Limogne-en-Quercy and on Tuesday in Lalbenque.


Ttruffle market Lalbenque © T.Joly
 €500 to €1,000 per kilo
But only 35 kg to 50 kg are sold in bad years and no more than 15 kg when it snows or frosts. This mushroom is indeed very sensitive to the climate conditions and harvest is usually poor if a drought occurred during summer. Completely free, prices depend on supply and demand and range from 500 € to 1 000 € per kilo. That’s a heck of a lot of money and truffle producers sell their whole weekly harvest as a single lot weighing from a few dozens grams to several kilos. If you are tempted, be careful, lots are not all homogeneous in quality and be aware that fresh truffles loose 20% of their weight once cleaned and brushed.
If you only want to buy a few, it’s more economical and easier to go to the little retail market held in the same street. Of course, prices are higher, from €1,000 to €1,200 per kilo, but truffles are sold in smaller quantities and even one by one.

December 24, 2017
 Thierry Joly