First Istrian white truffles auction in London raises £18,500 for charity

(Photo: Istria Tourist Board)

Last week, one of the largest auction houses in the world, Sotheby’s, together with the Istria Tourist Board, organised for the first time an auction of Istrian white truffles.

The auction took place at the exclusive Harry’s Bar in Mayfair, London. Croatia’s largest truffle supplier, Zigante Truffles from Plovanija near Buje in Istria, provided the main products for the auction and the Istrian dinner which was held on the night. 

The largest truffle of the season, weighing 375g, was purchased by an anonymous London buyer for £3,800. 

Results of the auction

Lot 2 – 6 small truffles were sold for £2,800
Lot 4 – 1 medium and 1 small truffle were sold for £2,600
Lot 5 – Istrian truffle experience sold for £3,500

An anonymous London millionaire also donated ab additional £3,500 to bringing the total amount raised for charity on the night to £18,500.

(Photo credit: Fox Communications)

All proceeds raised from the evening have been donated to three remarkable, life changing charities including Veruda Day Care Center in Pula, Istria, which provides rehabilitation for young children and adults with disabilities, London’s The Felix Project, an organisation that delivers fresh and nutritious food to over 300 London charities, providing enough food to make 6.5 million meals a year, and Chain of Hope, a charity providing life-saving heart treatments.

(Photo credit: Fox Communications)

All six lots were auctioned by Lord Harry Dalmeny, Chairman of Sotheby’s.

The 70 guests at Harry’s Bar dined on a four-course meal, each served with Istrian white truffles, under the expert direction of Harry’s Bar Luciano Porcu, and paired with the finest Istrian wines of Teran and Malvazija by Kozlovich. Guests were treated to a mix of hand-dived sea scallops, homemade tagliolini, pan-fried veal picatta and finishing with toasted panettone, chocolate sorbet and zabaglione.

Harry’s Bar (Photo credit: Fox Communications)

Director of Istria Tourist Board, Denis Ivošević, welcomed all the guests and pointing out that Istria is a recognized tourist destination in the world, mentioning the two key drivers of its gourmet offer – the Istria white truffle and the extra virgin olive oil that guests had the opportunity to taste.

Istrian olive oil producer, Tedi Chiavalon, revealed to the audience some of the secrets of extra virgin oil from Istria and briefly educated them how to correctly taste olive oil and recognize high quality olive oil.