10 Years of Truffle and More…

Had me some kicks at the recent 10th annual Truffle Festival in Napa. Great to run into my fav Napa chef, Del Dotto’s Josh Schwartz, who wasn’t in his customary chef whites, but was quarterbacking the truffle lunch courses along with Chef Juan José Cuevas and Chef Ken Frank that were coming out of his kitchen.

Josh said he just got back from seeing his son play at a hockey tournament in Santa Rosa where Charles Schultz, who was a big hockey fan, established an arena there. “Funny, my son is a big Sharks fan, but since I’m from Jersey, always been a Flyer fan, which my son couldn’t get behind, but the Santa Rosa team is called the Flyers, so he wound up being a Flyer anyway.”

I couldn’t resist chiming in my with my own hockey story about how I grew up worshipping Bobby Orr and the Big Bad Bruins, so when my bank manager in Napa told me he was a Canadiens fan, we wound up rolling around on the bank floor, which sent Josh into hysterics.

All kidding aside, Josh’s team and Del Dotto did its customary, top flight way of serving delectable truffle enhanced courses and wines to the sold out Dig Truffles? A Foodies Guide with Winery Truffle Lunch at Del Dotto Vineyards to savor. Josh said, “Ken asked us to get involved for the last couple of years and this year, David said yes, and it’s worked out great.”

Indeed. Later that night it was fun to sip sparklers served by Leigh Ann Harmon in the Westin’s lobby and then hobnob with the guests at La Toque’s Truffles & Wine Dinner by owner and Chef Ken Frank. Another sold out, fun and tasty truffle affair that included Chefs Juan José Cuevas, Michael Smith and Raphaël Vionnet in the kitchen to create truffle dishes that paired superbly with the wines .

Robert Chang, Chief Truffle Officer, was attired in a stylish and elegant suit to match the evening’s fine soirée. Kathleen Ludice, Director of Marketing, worked tirelessly to pave the road for successful events. Une petite suggestion for the Truffle Fest 2021, since every event was sold out this year, why not get more Napa wineries and restaurants involved to provide truffle lovers greater opportunities to savor truffle heaven next year?? Cheers.