Chapter 37
Someone's Been Digging HereLater that morning, Tomaso was in the piazza himself, selling the few truffles that were left in his field. There was great interest among the chefs and serious cooks in Alba, but the haggling began immediately after they heard the price.
“E' troppo caro!” complained one man who was already decked out in chef's toque. “It's too expensive!”
Tomaso lifted his shoulders and eyebrows in unison, and in apology, and struggled to explain the same reason he had given to so many others.
“There are so few tartufi this year, and I still must make some money. I have only one-third of last year's crop, so I should be charging three times as much to make up the difference, but I am not.”
“No, but you are charging twice the price,” the chef said, “and still it i
