Truffle Boy: My Unexpected Journey Through the Exotic Food Underground

Ian Purkayastha has a knack for attracting bad luck and good luck. Fortunately, for him and us, the good luck mostly prevails. This is an intriguing and passionate journey through the secretive world of supplying many of the world's most pricey gourmet ingredients: truffles, of course, but rare mushrooms, caviar, foie gras, olive oil and foraged wild edible plants. For an unseasoned teenager to tackle the job of cold call selling both black and white truffles to Manhattan's most prestigious restaurants takes an interesting mix of idealism and chutzpah.It seems at every turn, at least during the first few years of his journey, he encounters fraud and chicanery-even in people he believed he could trust. Fortunately, his growing knowledge of the ingredients and hard work builds a resume' and a business acumen that ultimately leads to a successful and respected business built on integrity and reliable sourcing.Ian pulls no punches, about his own naivete' and trashing some of those people who took advantage of him. Whether the names have been altered, to protect the guilty, or not, in Ian's version they all get their comeuppance. I have no doubt this is Ian's story, although I suspect there has been some strong editing, in the "as told to tradition". No matter, it is an entertaining and informative read. Ian is proud (and should be) of his several ethnic strains. It is a generally uplifting account of someone who didn't quite fit in in several schools, but forged an identity and friendships based on his passion and knowledge of cooking and foraging. In his mid-twenties, he has accomplished a lot, and done it his own unique way.

The book gets less engrossing as it progresses. The most interesting part of the story is how he grew his business; he provides lots of detail about this until he becomes the sole owner of the business at which point the interesting details disappears from the book. I suspect he is protecting trade secrets. Even though his personal story is only interesting in the context of his business, the ratio of personal to business increases throughout.Once the book becomes a don't-tell-all, it is much less interesting. In fact the last roughly 25% of the book felt like pure filler - its penultimate section is several pages of glossary, some of the entries in which are near word-for-word repeats of earlier passages in the book. The book then concludes with a list of recipes that reminded me of an under-prepared high school student, stymied by an essay question, stalling for time by listing all the characters in a book instead of providing analysis thereof.Purkayastha and his co-writer may have been in a tough place as they had too much worthwhile material for a magazine article but not enough to fill a book.

This is a title that I first found at the local public library, then read and found I must have a copy of my own. Having just seen the t.v. series, A Year in Provence, where truffles featured in many of the episodes, it was fascinating to see the journey this young boy took to establish himself as one of the most reliable truffle suppliers to the leading New York chefs. The descriptions of places that I had been in Arkansas and the rest of the world were an added boon to attract my attention.

Mr. Ian Purkayastha book "Truffle Boy" is a great read - For those of us in the food & beverage business and anyone with a serious interest in high end gourmet foods & restaurants - Well Done Mr. Ian !

I enjoyed the interesting story of his family, his early life, and his interest and finally his master of the best truffles in the world.

LOVE seeing such a success story with this young man. Ian is proof that if you love what you do and stick with it, the world is your oyster, or in Ian's case, truffle! If you are a foodie, entrepreneur or just love seeing kids succeed, you will enjoy this book. The sky is the limit for this Truffle King!

Not only was this book a joy to read, but it also contained a lot of really interesting information about the science behind mushroom cultivation and various wild edibles. I highly recommended this book to anyone who is even remotely interested in the food industry, foraging, or cooking in general. It was a great read.

Found this a well written and easy to read overview of Purkayastha's love of, and search for, truffles and exotic foods. Interesting insights into his family life and the impact they had on his passion. I ended up reading it in one sitting and found myself hoping for a sequel.

This is a very informative book with a great look into the high end food supply market and business. Good read overall.

Fine read.