At the beginning of the week, the first Istrian White Truffle Auction organized and hosted by Istria Tourist Board raised £18,500 for charity, at Mayfair’s private members club Harry’s Bar. All six lots were auctioned by Lord Harry 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 Center 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 + 1 little truffle were auctioned for 2.600 £; 5th Lot – „Istrian truffle experience“ was auctioned for 3.500 £. Besides, the anonymus London millionaire donated the additional 3.500 £, so the total raised amount is 12.000 £.

Following a flourishing start to this year’s white truffle season, the evening saw the auction of no less than four bundles of Istrian truffles, including an exclusive white truffle experience journey for two, and of course the largest truffle of the season, provided by Croatia’s largest truffle suppler; Zigante Tartufi. 

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.

After that, the olive oil producer from Istria, Tedi Chiavalon, showed to the audience some secrets of the extra virgin oil from Istria and briefly educated them how to correctly taste olive oil and recognize high quality olive oil.  

After the successfully organized dinner, 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 Center in Istria’s Pula, The Felix Projec and Chain of Hope.” - Lord Harry Dalmeny, Chairman of Sotheby’s