The Truffle Underground

A Tale of Mystery, Mayhem, and Manipulation in the Shadowy Market of the World's Most Expensive Fungus

By: Ryan Jacobs

Narrated by: Ari Fliakos

Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

“The ultimate truffle true crime tale” (Bianca Bosker, New York Times best-selling author of Cork Dork) - a thrilling journey through the hidden underworld of the world's most prized luxury ingredient.

Beneath the gloss of star chefs and crystal-laden tables, the truffle supply chain is touched by theft, secrecy, sabotage, and fraud. Farmers patrol their fields with rifles and fear losing trade secrets to spies. Hunters plant poisoned meatballs to eliminate rival truffle-hunting dogs. Naive buyers and even knowledgeable experts are duped by liars and counterfeits.

Deeply reported and elegantly written, this addictive exposé documents the dark, sometimes deadly crimes at each level of the truffle’s path from ground to plate, making sense of an industry that traffics in scarcity, seduction, and cash. Through it all, a question lingers: What, other than money, draws people to these dirt-covered jewels?

Praise for The Truffle Underground

“Investigative journalist and first-time author Jacobs does a remarkable job reporting from the front lines of the truffle industry, bringing to vivid life French black-truffle farmers, Italian white-truffle foragers, and their marvelously well-trained dogs.” (Booklist, starred review)

“In The Truffle Underground, Ryan Jacobs presents a lively exposé of the truffle industry, reporting on the crimes that ‘haunt the whole supply chain.’... Even if truffles are beyond your pay grade, there is plenty of enjoyment to be had in the sheer devilment portrayed in this informative and appetizing book.” (The Wall Street Journal)

“In elegant, mesmerizing prose, Ryan Jacobs has delivered a forest-to-table page-turner from the outer limits of our foodie culture, a place where colorful farmers, serial dog murderers and famous chefs grapple over a crudely foraged fungus that's traded in parking lots and bars, like heroin. The Truffle Underground is an eye-opener for anyone who's picked up a fork.” (Steve Fainaru, New York Times best-selling author of League of Denial and Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter)

©2019 Ryan Jacobs (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Jacobs is an unstoppable and captivating guide through the dark underbelly of the world’s most glamorous fungus. This is the ultimate truffle true crime tale.” (Bianca Bosker, New York Times best-selling author of Cork Dork)

“The thrilling new book The Truffle Underground has all the dirt on this prized fungus.” (Mother Jones)

“The Truffle Underground is as much about human nature as it is about a little-known corner of the food industry. In the guise of a crisply written and engaging story about a rare, astronomically priced delicacy, Jacobs has produced a contemporary morality tale about capitalism and consumerism.” (Los Angeles Review of Books)

Fascinating , engaging, well researched

I will never know for sure if the truffle dish I'm eating at a restaurant is authentic... thanks!

Interesting story

Really enjoyed the it. Interesting history about truffle hunting and the current (and past) characters involved.

A candid glimpse of the European truffle industry

Peak behind the curtain of the industry around the most agricultural product. This book shows the highs, lows, temptations and triumphs of Europe's truffle industry. I ask myself if the infant North American truffle industry will follow in their footsteps, or develop without the secrecy which led to their cousins' greatest regrets.

Interesting, disillusioning story

Good story, those Jacobs’s prose is a bit florid at times
Narrator should leave off with the accents. They were distracting, often inauthentic. Some of the Italian ones sounded like stereotypes from “The Godfather”

Never knew the behind the scenes story

Actually never cared about truffles industry and the book really wove a wonderful tale. Deception with intrigue on a mostly unmonitored industry with premium pricing. Uninformed consumers demanding truffles from restaurants whose buyers are hit and miss with industry knowledge make a powder keg situation.

history I didn't know.

great background. had no idea. A lot of time energy and money spent on truffles

I was enthralled. Couldn't put it down.

Fascination with the subject matter grew with every listen. It's a well written book with an equally exceptional performance.

Fascinating story for foodies

I had no idea about all of the intrigue surrounding the truffle industry. It was an extremely interesting book for me as a foodie.

Decent story easy to get lost in

craving truffles now I hate truffle "FAKE" truffles and some bad accents blah blah blah...

Incredible education in truffle trade economics and gastronomy

I learned more about truffles than I ever thought I would know and more about all the fake truffle products I’ve been eating over the last few years than I wanted to know.