Spare me the truffle takeover

I remember, vividly, when working at Raymond Blanc’s Michelin-starred Le Manoir, the moment the truffles were delivered. A frisson went round the kitchen staff as the napkin covering the precious morsels was dramatically whipped off. Physically inspecting the gnarled, knobbly nuggets was a right reserved for head chef alone. As a lowly pot-washer, I was confined to the back, neck craned for a glimpse.

So I am not blind to the excitement and sheer theatre of the treasured truffle. I even like them. But why on earth have they taken over every restaurant menu, as plentiful as lashings of ‘EV’ olive oil and flaky sea salt?

2018-19 was when the truffle takeover first got going on the London restaurant scene. Then the rot quickly set in. There is a five-store chain – Truffle Burger – serving, you guessed it. It’s not yet quite as bad as Salt Bae’s gold leaf-encrusted burgers, but it’s not far off.