THE PEOPLE BEHIND ISTRIA’S TRUFFLES: A CONVERSATION WITH PRODAN TARTUFI
By Joelle Machia and Ryan Slough from Wanderers Compass

Three years after Joelle’s rainy truffle hunt in Istria, we returned to Prodan Tartufi with a different purpose. The first visit had introduced Joelle to the excitement of following a trained truffle dog through the forest and then bringing those truffles into the kitchen. She was traveling with a cooking club of 16 women, and despite the rain that followed them into the forest that day, the experience became one of the most memorable parts of the trip.

This time, we came together to listen. We had plenty of questions about truffles. Why does Istria produce such extraordinary varieties? How are the dogs trained? What makes the prized white truffle so rare and valuable? But what interested us most were the people behind them. For the Prodan family, truffles are not merely something found beneath the soil and sold to restaurants. They are part of a family tradition dating to the 1960s, knowledge passed down through decades, and a way of life closely connected to the forests of Croatia’s Istrian peninsula.

So, we sat down with Višnja Prodan Jekić of Prodan Tartufi and asked her to tell us the story. That conversation became the heart of this episode of the Wanderers Compass Podcast.

Listen to our complete conversation:

A Family Tradition Dating to the 1960s
The Prodan family’s relationship with truffles began with Višnja’s grandfather, who started hunting them in the 1960s. Her parents, Vanda and Guido Prodan, continued the tradition, and today Višnja and her brother, Mirko Prodan, have taken on larger roles in the business. They are joined by Višnja’s husband, Igor Jekić, Mirko’s girlfriend, Veronika Zigante, and their parents. It remains a close family operation.

What became clear as we talked with Višnja was how much of this work depends on knowledge acquired over time. Truffle hunting is not simply walking into the forest with a dog and hoping for the best. Hunters learn the terrain, recognize the trees associated with truffles, watch seasonal conditions, understand how weather affects the hunt, and develop a working relationship with their dogs. Much of that comes from years of experience and from learning alongside those who came before them.

At the same time, Prodan Tartufi has grown far beyond its beginnings. The family now ships truffles internationally, including to Michelin-starred restaurants, with customers across Europe and a particularly strong market in Japan. Višnja also told us about plans to make more of the company’s products available directly to consumers online, initially in Europe, with hopes of eventually reaching the United States and other markets.

That growth has not separated the business from where it began. The truffles still come from the forests of Istria, and the skills required to find them remain closely tied to the land. For us, that was one of the most interesting parts of our conversation with Višnja: how a business can expand internationally while the thing at its center remains so intensely local.

Truffles, Forests and the Dogs That Find Them
Travel through Istria, and you quickly discover how deeply truffles are woven into the region’s food culture. They are shaved over pasta and eggs, incorporated into cheeses and spreads, infused into oils, and found in shops and restaurants throughout the peninsula. But experiencing them only at the table leaves out much of their story.

Truffles develop underground in a symbiotic relationship with the roots of certain trees. Soil, moisture, climate, vegetation, and other environmental conditions all play a role in determining where they grow. The forests of inland Istria, particularly those around the Mirna River Valley and Motovun, provide the conditions needed for several important species. Three of the significant black truffles found in the region are Tuber melanosporum, Tuber brumale, and Tuber aestivum. Then there is Tuber magnatum Pico, the prized white truffle for which Istria is particularly renowned.

Finding something growing beneath a forest floor requires help, and that is where the dogs come in. Joelle had experienced this firsthand during her first visit to Prodan Tartufi. That day, she followed Capo, a Lagotto Romagnolo, through the wet forest as he searched for the scent of truffles hidden beneath the soil. She left with a name to attach to a dog and a memory that had stayed with her for three years.

The family has five truffle dogs. Capo and Sky are Lagotto Romagnolos, while Pico, Stiv, and Brum are terrier mixes. Višnja explained that the dogs must learn to recognize the correct scent, work with their handlers, and locate a truffle without damaging it. It takes patience from both the dog and the person at the other end of the hunt.

We had hoped to return to the forest with the dogs during this visit, but Istria was experiencing extreme summer heat. Taking them out under those conditions would have placed unnecessary stress on them, so the hunt was called off. We appreciated that the dogs’ wellbeing came before providing an experience for visitors. In the end, staying behind also gave us something we had not had during Joelle’s first trip: time to sit with Višnja, ask questions, and hear more about the work that happens before a truffle ever reaches a kitchen.

The Elusive White Truffle
Of all the truffles found in Istria, the white truffle inspires the most fascination. Tuber magnatum Pico occurs naturally in limited areas of Europe, and Istria is among the regions fortunate enough to have it. Its powerful aroma, scarcity, short season, and perishability have helped make it one of the most sought-after foods in the world.

Višnja confirmed that Istria’s official white truffle season runs from September 1 through December 31. Even during those months, there are no guarantees. Nature determines what will grow and what hunters will ultimately find. Weather, moisture, temperature, and other conditions can make one season very different from another.

Then there is the price. Višnja explained that there is no fixed number because supply and demand, the success of a particular season, quality, and size all play a role. As a general guide, smaller white truffles may sell for approximately €2,000 to €3,000 per kilogram, while larger and extra-large specimens can reach approximately €4,000 to €5,000 per kilogram. Prices can fall below those ranges in some years and rise above them in others.

Those numbers help explain why white truffles have become associated with luxury dining, but they also reveal the uncertainty behind the business. A truffle hunter cannot increase production when demand rises. There is no factory or predictable harvest schedule. Ultimately, much depends on what is happening beneath the forest floor.

From the Forest to the Table
Of course, eventually our conversation about truffles led to eating them, and we were certainly not going to object. Our hosts had prepared an impressive selection of Prodan Tartufi products, allowing us to taste oils, spreads, jams, truffle balsamic vinegar, honey, and a truffle spice that quickly became one of our favorites. Some combinations were familiar, while others caught us by surprise. Truffle honey over vanilla ice cream was one we had not expected, but it worked remarkably well.

One of our favorite moments, however, came from a simple question. With her family surrounded by one of the world’s most prized culinary ingredients, we asked Višnja how she personally preferred to eat truffles. Her answer was scrambled eggs. We loved its simplicity, especially since we had eaten truffled scrambled eggs several times while traveling through Croatia, including on the day of our visit. Eggs provide a relatively neutral base that allows the aroma and flavor of fresh truffles to remain the focus.

That answer also mentioned the difference between encountering a food in a fine-dining restaurant and experiencing it in a place where it is part of everyday life. Truffles can certainly be luxurious, but in Istria they are also part of the regional cuisine and closely connected to the landscape. Eating them here, after talking with the people who hunt them and seeing the dogs that help find them, gives the food context that is difficult to replicate elsewhere.

Food has always been one of our favorite ways to explore a destination for exactly that reason. It rarely exists on its own. It reflects geography and climate, carries family histories and traditions, creates livelihoods, and often tells us something about what a community values enough to preserve.

The People Behind Istria’s Truffles
Our return to Prodan Tartufi reminded us why we are increasingly interested in the stories behind the foods we encounter while traveling. It is easy to order a plate of truffle pasta or buy a jar of truffle spread and enjoy it. There is nothing wrong with that. But knowing where something comes from can completely change the experience.

You begin asking different questions. Who found it? Why does it grow here? How did the dog know where to look? Who taught the hunter? What happens when the next generation takes over?

Those questions brought us back to Prodan Tartufi. The first visit had shown Joelle what it was like to follow a dog into an Istrian forest in search of something hidden beneath the soil. Our return allowed us to meet more of the people behind that experience and learn how much knowledge, patience, family history, and uncertainty surround something we so often encounter as only another ingredient.

It also reminded us that traditions survive because people continue them. Višnja’s grandfather began hunting truffles more than six decades ago. Her parents carried that knowledge forward, and today Višnja, Mirko, and the rest of the family are finding their own way to preserve what came before them while building a business for the future.

There is only so much of their story we can capture on these pages, which is precisely why we wanted Višnja to tell so much of it herself. In our conversation, she takes us deeper into the family’s world, discussing the truffles, dogs, forests, food, and traditions that have shaped their lives in Istria.

For us, that is the value of sitting down with someone who lives the story rather than simply telling it ourselves. We arrived with questions about truffles. We left thinking much more about the family behind them.

A truffle may be what brings you to the table, but the people behind it are what make you want to stay.

Learn more about Prodan Tartufi at ProdanTartufi.hr

Joelle Machia and Ryan Slough are the hosts of the Wanderers Compass podcast on Big Blend Radio and founders of the Wanderers Compass travel blog. Follow their adventures at WanderersCompass.com.

Learn more about Joelle and Ryan on their Big Blend Expert Page.

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