Cover Fumio Suzuki, Bjoern Alexander, Nathan Green, Giuseppe de Vuono, Roland Schuller and Umberto Bombana (Photo: 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana)

The event was held once again on November 14, 2021, with four separate lots of white Alba truffle being auctioned off for charity

Not even a pandemic can keep truffle lovers from placing their bids on the prized white Alba truffle, and one of the most high profile auctions of the white gold on this side of the world is that of Umberto Bombana’s, the truffle king of Otto e Mezzo 8 1/2 Bombana. The auction has taken place for the last 20 years (the 2020 edition however, was purely virtual), with Bombana hosting event event since 2011, raising astronomical amounts of money for charity.

The latest edition hosted on Sunday November 14, 2021, may not have broken any records—that last happened in 2019, when a one-kilo specimen went under the hammer and sold for 120,000 euros (back then, HK$1.035 million), making it the highest winning bid in the last 12 years of the auction—but raised a considerable sum nonetheless. Naturally, the largest white truffle was won by a Hong Kong diner with deep pockets; in the past 20 years of the auction, there were only three occasions where the prize truffle was not secured by someone in the city, and the 2021 edition was no exception.

See also: At Otto e Mezzo Bombana, a One-Kilo White Truffle is Sold for HK$1.035 Million

Tatler Asia
Above Four lots of white Alba truffle, along with Barolo wines, were up for auction
Tatler Asia
Above The prize truffle, weighing in at 830 grams

This time, the mystery guest put their paddle up for the 830gram white Alba truffle, securing it for a handsome sum of 103,000 euros (HK$918,000)—paying 4 euros more per gram than the record-breaking specimen in 2019. In much of the world, the going price for white truffle has doubled—and even quadrupled—in 2021 due to dwindling supply and climate change (a scorching hot summer in northern Italy has been the contributing factor), rather than logics issues brought on by the pandemic. It’s what Bloomberg has described as “The Great White Truffle Crisis of 2021”.

In total, the white truffle auction raised HK$3.56 million for Mother’s Choice, a local non-profit dedicated to servicing the needs of underprivileged families, young girls facing pregnancy, and children in need of a permanent home.

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