The Mustérion Craft Truffle dinner series highlights local truffle farming for the future

When I first met the two Pretoria scientists Helga Dagutat (microbiologist) and Nita Breytenbach (plant physiologist), who are producing truffles all year long, I was blown away by their vision, by the way they were dealing with their remarkable achievements while also challenging existing norms in a world where few women even these days, can best their male counterparts.

What I discovered was not just the magnificence of the truffles but also the two larger-than-life personalities, as well as their driving force and perseverance which, I have come to realise, is the secret ingredient of their success.

I have since attended one of their annual truffle-inspired and infused dinners and am excited by the third event in this series, which the two women have decided to dedicate to chlorophyll, the process responsible for truffles. In fact, says Dagutat, truffles are truly chlorophyll’s gift to us.

Like me, you may have to turn to your school biology as a reminder that chlorophyll is a pigment that gives the green colour to plants while helping them to create their own food through photosynthesis. It transforms sunlight energy into chemical energy.

That’s the gist, but the most exciting part is exploring the imaginations of these two scientists as they talk about their next menu, which has been in planning for a year and will be revealed this month in a series of dinners.

The level of detail is mindboggling and the way they explain the process, which is all focused on truffles and what the project means to these two women, is fun to witness. Their main line of business is their biological control solutions which have changed the face of local farming for the future, and the truffles give them the chance to have fun and be creative. Their core business is based on the use of the edible mushroom mycelium to control pests and diseases that could damage crops and, as Breytenbach explains, with healthy results overnight.

But the truffles are, naturally, what excite me and I’m not going to delve into the technical hazards of growing this precious produce all year round. The dinners are a celebration of their achievements and this side of the business, called Mustérion TM is all about truffles.

As Dagutat notes, because they grow truffles constantly, and as many as they please, the Mustérion menus can reflect that abundance of the Mustérion Craft TruffleTM — a rare and beautiful thing which they love to exploit and explore.

On the night, the food is prepared by passionate chef Gavin van Zyl and students from the acclaimed Capital Hotel School as his assistants. That emotion is a requirement for anyone who steps into the Mustérion world.

The amuse bouche, presented in their glorious courtyard at their state-of-the-art factory in an industrial hub in Pretoria with huge fires burning and Pretoria’s night sky presenting the perfect setting, Forest — A Series of Secrets and Complex Organic Relationships is a beetroot flower tortilla filled with turnip paste and Queso cheese sauce with truffle.

Following an exquisite looking first bite, the Chlorophyll Forest Walk is the first real introduction to what the evening is all about, as well as revealing some of the imagination that underpins the menu.

It’s an assortment of chlorophyll with nori and a specially sourced goat’s cream cheese, a honey truffle waterdrop (the magnificence which will be revealed), and a herb embedded in a windowpane potato chip placed in Selaginella pesto with truffle.

Selaginella, it is a plant Dagutat lost her heart to as a child and — as she discovered with many other plant-based products — it is deliciously edible.

Burnt Forest Floor with its baked goat’s milk Camembert in passion-fruit leaves, one with and one without truffle, is followed by Forest Garden Mimics the Ecosystems, a reimagined salad with green chlorophyll, yoghurt, feta and truffle combined in a seaweed gel with Modena-balsamic butter on the side, served with Parmigiano-Reggiano truffle sablés topped with cherry tomatoes grilled in an infused olive oil of garlic, ginger, and chilli aromatics and topped with black mustard and nigella-seed paste with parsley verjuice.

Where The Forest Meets the Stars, a truffle aumônière filled with silky cauliflower and black-garlic purée with grated truffle, is topped with duck cooked in verjuice, cognac, rosemary, and orange sauce, and on the side, Shimeji mushroom and onion petals filled with a cognac, pear, and rosemary dressing with citrus gremolata on the side. And that’s some mouthful!

The Underwater Forest is rainbow trout with grated truffle and topped by a Baobab mustard sauce served with truffle-infused black rice with trout caviar, green sauce, beetroot jelly filled with crème fraîche and a pea pod with pea purée and truffle. The plate is dusted with Parmesan chlorophyll powder.

And then it’s time to go Hunting in the Forest which features green masala chlorophyll lamb served with ramen with whipped avo dressing, coconut sambal, date compote, and tahini dressing as condiments.

Baklava Honey Pistachios Cheesecake seals the deal.

What I find most astonishing from these untrained chefs is the menu’s combinations which explode with flavours that make complete sense because of their inquiring scientific minds that have found their passion in this foodie playground dominated and driven by truffles.

The wines selected by the chef of the dinners are carefully considered for their delicious elegance, superior quality and, usually, rarity.

As Van Zyl shares, the first of the evening, by young maverick winemaker Sakkie Mouton (Sakkie Mouton Family Wines), is a blend of Colombard and Palomino, with both vineyards being the last of their kind along the West Coast. This blend offers flavours of umami and seaweed, with notes of bright lemon acidity, a wonderful accompaniment for nori, goat’s cheese, and truffle, with only 470 bottles produced.

Then he pairs Groendruif Skin Contact Sémillon, by Trizanne Barnard (Trizanne Signature Wines), with the reimagined salad, with the Mediterranean flavours of the wine complementing the dish perfectly. And with the lamb dish he selected Sons of Sugarland Syrah by Reenen Borman (SAGA Vineyards), with notes of red berries, buchu, and cured meats.

The final choice is a Masottina Prosecco Brut, a sparkling white wine from Italy, made from Glera grapes, which has fruit forward flavours and an elegant mousse, that sings with the cheesecake.

The Mustérion Craft Truffle Dinner with Pairing series happens at the Science Factory in Pretoria on August 9, 16, 23 and 30.  

Time: 5:30pm for 6pm

Price: R2,300 per person

Dress code: Smart casual

Venue: The Science Factory in Pretoria.

For bookings and details: info@musterion.co.za

Instagram: @musterion_craft_truffle