In November 2019, the Istria Tourist Board, in collaboration with the world re-known Sotheby’s Auction House, hosted a prestigious auction of the white Istrian truffle in London.

At the “White Istrian Truffle Auction”, held at the Mayfair's private members club Harry's Bar, whose members include some of the world’s wealthiest individuals—a total of £18,500 was raised for charity. All six lots were auctioned by Lord Dalmeny, Chairman of Sotheby’s, with the largest truffle of the season at 375g purchased by an anonymous London buyer.

All proceeds raised from the evening have been donated to three remarkable, life changing charities including Veruda Day Care Centre in Istria’s Pula, providing 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, Chain of Hope - a charity providing life-saving heart treatments.

The results of the auctions for the Istrian charity were the following: 2nd Lot – 6 little truffles were auctioned for 2.800 £; 4th Lot - 1 medium and 1 little truffle were auctioned for 2.600 £; 5th Lot – “Istrian truffle experience” was auctioned for 3.500 £. Besides, the anonymous London millionaire donated the additional 3.500 £, so the total raised amount for Istria was 12.100 £.

Following a flourishing start to this year’s white truffle season in Istria, the evening saw the auction of no less than four bundles of Istrian truffles, including an exclusive white truffle experience journey for two. The highlight of the evening was the largest truffle of the season, secured by the Istria Tourist Board in partnership with Croatia’s most renowned truffle supplier, Zigante d.o.o.

The 70 guests of Harry’s Bar dined on a four-course meal, each served with Istrian white truffle - under the expert direction of Harry’s Bar Luciano Porcu. 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.

Director of Istria Tourist Board, Denis Ivošević welcomed all the guests showing them gratefulness for attending the event 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.

Following that, Istrian olive oil producer Tedi Chiavalon shared with the audience some of the secrets of extra virgin olive oil from Istria. He gave a brief introduction on how to properly taste and recognize high-quality olive oil—captivating guests, who found the tasting especially engaging.

After the successfully organized event, Lord Harry Dalmeny, Chairman of Sotheby’s for UK said: “What a superb evening with the Istrian Tourist Board last night. The glitterati were out in full force at the exclusive private members club Harry’s Bar to celebrate the Istrian White Truffle Auction Dinner. Not an easy crowd to impress, London’s finest gourmands were dazzled by a feast from Istria, the finest white truffles, exquisite wines and of course their extra virgin oil. A delightful night for all, I was thrilled to be the auctioneer of these fine white truffle lots, raising over £18,000 for the three charities; Veruda Day Care Centre in Istria’s Pula, The Felix Project and Chain of Hope.”, lord Dalmeny concluded proudly.

Since 1744, Sotheby’s has been uniting world-class art collectors across the globe. It became the first international auction house by expanding from London to New York in 1955, followed by landmark sales in Hong Kong (1973), India (1992), and France (2001). Today, Sotheby’s boasts a global network of 80 offices in 40 countries and operates nine salerooms worldwide. Hosting around 250 auctions annually across more than 70 categories, Sotheby’s also leverages digital innovations to provide clients with seamless access anytime, from any device, and from anywhere in the world.