Children find truffles worth £1,200-a-lb in their school vegetable plot

Published on Friday 1 October 2010 17:37

PUPILS digging a school vegetable patch unearthed a harvest that is not a common or garden sight.

• Truffles are usually found by specially trained dogs or pigs

Among the potatoes, onions and beans they had planted in the grounds of Moncrieffe Primary in Perth, the children found a bounty of truffles.

The rare discovery was initially passed to local chef Graeme Pallister, who is working with the youngsters on a healthy food project and a wild food expert who confirmed the find.

Karen Young, the school's headteacher, said the pupils were harvesting vegetables when they dug up something they did not recognise.

She said: "The teacher who leads the gardening group, Jane Savage, had an inkling it might be something rather special and contacted one of the school's business partners, local chef Graeme Pallister.

He confirmed that the children had indeed found what looked like a truffle.

"The truffle has now been verified by experts, and we've been told they are a very rare find in Scotland. Truffles have certainly not ever been sourced in Perthshire before.

"The children were tremendously excited to learn that they had found something so rare, and there has been a real buzz all around the school. We are all amazed at this discovery."

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Initially four truffles were found and the pupils have since uncovered about ten, weighing under a kilogram in total. The variety has not been confirmed, but experts say they could be white spring truffles, which have never been found in Scotland before.

White spring truffles are among the most sought-after and are found mainly in northern Italy. They are usually found by specially trained dogs or pigs and can cost up to 2,700 a kg.

The youngsters are currently involved in a project to grow their own produce from scratch. Along with Mr Pallister, they are also building a working kitchen and creating a cooking programme with the help of a campaign which has raised 6,000 so far.

Mr Pallister, Scotland's 2010 Executive Chef of the Year, who runs Perth's 63 Tay Street restaurant, said: "One of the girls at the school found the truffle and had the savvy not to just throw it away, thinking it was an old dead potato or something, and that it was something a little bit different.

"It was covered in mud, so it was sheer luck.

"It's a great find, it's almost like a Jack in the Beanstalk tale for the kids. They have been looking to fund this project at the school and here's a pot of gold at the bottom of their garden. It's fantastic for them.

"I'm now hoping to do a deal with them. I would use the truffles in a simple pasta dish and stick it on the restaurant menu, and my customers and the people of Perth can get a taste for them."Professor Roy Watling, a consultant mycologist or fungal specialist, said: "I think this is exciting for kids to find something that other people don't find, especially when digging their school garden plot.

"People don't seem to realise they are so widely distributed but not many know about them or find them. For kids to do so is extraordinary."