Truffle orchard ‘bit of fun’ now serious business venture

One-time farmworker Mike Collison, and his partner Michelle, bought a 2.8ha field in which to establish a tree seed business and nursery, and ended up running a truffle supply business.

The venture began when a business contact, a French nursery inoculating trees with truffle spores, enquired if they would like to be its UK distributor.

After some investigation, the couple agreed and planted 1.6ha of mainly hazel and oak mixed woodland as a truffle orchard – it has now become a major business venture for them. 

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“We undersowed it with wildflowers and left it to nature, unsure if it was an expensive folly, a bit of fun or a new business venture.”

Customers

He now sells them mainly to wholesalers, but also to local restaurants and online. 

“It’s a luxury product, but also a treat – and, even in times of austerity, people still want an occasional treat,” he says. 

Mike also offers experience days, giving visitors the chance to learn about the fungus, have a go at finding a few, then tuck into a three-course, truffle-based tasting menu. 

“They’re best eaten simply, though – grated on top of scrambled egg, or added to a pasta dish. It’s also lovely shaved on top of a steak or added, instead of parsley, to a white sauce.

“Treat it as a condiment rather than cooking it, as high temperatures destroy the flavour.”

According to Mike, the taste is impossible to describe. “There’s not really a single word that does it justice. It is quite earthy. Once you’ve tasted it, you’ll never forget it, though.”

Mike Collison with his truffle-hunting dog, Oscar © Supplied by Mike Collison

Truffle hunting

In the summer and autumn, he collects truffles daily with the help of his dog, a lagotto Romagnolo called Oscar. 

“They were originally a duck- hunting breed from Italy, but they’ve got such a brilliant nose that they were trained to hunt truffles. They’ve been doing it for 80 or 90 years, so it’s in the genes.

“We did all the training ourselves because it’s not as if there are truffle-hunting puppy classes!

“The first year or so he was pretty useless, but by simply getting him to put his nose on a truffle then rewarding him with a biscuit, he got the hang of it.

“He turned into a truffle-finding machine and was soon locating them quicker than I could collect them.”

The British black truffle typically grows just below the surface, but sometimes pokes above it, too, explains Mike. 

“A lot of the orchards that have been started in this country haven’t succeeded. Nature’s very unpredictable and there’s so much that can go wrong.

Yields

Moisture definitely has a big impact. Truffles don’t like their feet wet, but they don’t like to be too dry either.”

For this reason, Mike has put in a borehole. “Our climate is getting more variable, so having irrigation definitely pays dividends – especially in a year like 2022.

“There’s no escaping that there’s a long lead time with this venture, though – this is only the third year mine has really yielded.

“I had a good feeling it was going to work, though, because we spotted the ‘brûlé effect’ over the first 10 years.

“As the trees grew, there’s was a burnt-off area of grass around pretty much every one, which suggested that everything that should have been going on underground was happening.

“Of course, there’s never any guarantees with truffles so I figured, if nothing else, it would be a lovely bit of woodland for the grandkids.”

Mike’s expectations are that the orchard will yield prolifically for 20-30 years, then tail off.

“But quite how quickly it tails off is hard to establish. It’s one of those industries where nobody wants to tell you very much because the people who know have had to find it out for themselves,” he says.

“In France, there’s even more secrecy. I’ve heard it said that for every truffle collected in France, one is stolen – and for every one declared, there are three that aren’t to avoid the tax!”

Mike’s optimistic enough to have recently planted another half-hectare or so of truffle trees on another part of the land.

Renewable energy

He’s also got 0.5ha of solar panels – a logical move, given he’s involved in a family renewable energy business, ESP Sales & Service.

“Given what’s happened to fuel prices in the past 18 months, that business has been all hands to the pump. Nipping up to the orchard for an hour to collect truffles can be a great stress-buster!

“We have a stand every year at Ludlow food festival. The vast majority of people who come to the stand are trying them for the first time.

“Maybe one in eight simply don’t get the taste, but when the others try it, their faces light up. It’s magical to see.”