Javier Acedo

lrodriguez
October 22, 2018
Javier Acedo, javier-trufero is his Twitter handle, is an artisan trufficulturalist. His company, which is all about truffles, does it all. And by all, I mean all: Beginning with the breeding, training and sale of Lagotto Romagnolo dogs – a breed of dog from region of Romagna – that are, he points out, genetically the best-equipped to find truffles. Via consulting about setting up truffle farms on farmland as well as managing and growing the truffles. And finally, to the cultivation of his own truffles, and the sale and distribution of others to a select group of Spanish restaurants concerned not only with the produce used in their kitchens, but also interested in his expert advice. His clients include: El Celler de Can Roca, Lakasa, El Invernadero, D’Stage… All this has made him one of the most authoritative voices in Spain within the particular and fascinating universe of truffles that involves exorbitant prices, treasure that is ‘hunted’ at the crack of dawn, all traces of discovery are hidden to avoid revealing secret locations, and the enjoyment of this foodstuff which is celebrated as if one had gone to a gastronomic heaven reserved for very few individuals. Acedo has a decidedly didactic vocation and an immense wealth of knowledge that allows him to differentiate every truffle variety available on both the local and international market; to have an intimate understanding of them – with regard to their physical as well as organoleptic properties – and is in the know about their market price. He is a human encyclopaedia, a wise man who, among other brilliant ideas, introduced the very particular and exclusive sweet truffle from Hungary to our gustatory framework. As far as his own tastes are concerned, he recognizes that he is a lover of Tuber melanosporum and worships Tuber magnatum pico, which he considers the queen of truffles, but does not look down on others such as Tuber aestivum, uncinatum and macrosporum when they are in season. He is a self-declared enemy of the many fakes and the trickery found in the truffle market that are linked to the fraudulent sale of some varieties in the guise of others, as he is of the widespread use of tartufati, minced mushrooms flavoured with products derived from a petroleum-based derivative created to train truffle-hunting dogs. He is a combative sentimentalist, an untameable conversationalist, a trufficulturalist like few others. By Miguel Ángel Rincón