Truffle Boy

May 9, 2016
In this delightful chronicle, Purkayastha charmingly recounts his own rags-to-riches tale. With few friends and little interest in school in Arkansas, Purkayastha hung out with his family in their cabin in the woods; one day his brother, Jared, introduced him to the amazing taste and texture of wild morels, and Purkayastha was hooked on mushrooms and foraging. After a meal of truffle-stuffed ravioli in New York City, Purkayastha’s destiny is set, and he spends the last two years of high school setting up a modest trade in truffles out of his home. Rather than entering college, he heads off to New York in 2010 , planning to make his fortune in truffles. Along the way, he partners with unscrupulous businessmen and almost loses all of his money, but eventually he buys back shares in his company. Now 22, Purkayastha, writing with West (Saving the Season), successfully supplies truffles and other wild-foraged foods to Michelin-starred New York restaurants such as Per Se and Momofuku Ko. Purkayastha’s memoir grows monotonous and repetitive, but his passion for truffles animates his story. Agent: David Kuhn, Kuhn Projects.

June 15, 2016
A 20-something's account of how he became a leading importer of truffles and other exotic specialty foods for some of America's most elite restaurants. The son of an American mother and Indian father, Purkayastha grew up in Houston and Fayetteville, Arkansas. Dyslexia and neural processing delay issues made schoolwork a struggle, but when his grandfather introduced him to cooking and rock collecting, his life changed. As he cultivated his love of food, school took a back seat to his new interest in gemology and to the small business he created selling stones to his classmates. The author became "hooked on mushrooms" after his parents moved to Arkansas and his uncle taught him the basics of foraging. After tasting his first truffle-infused meal, Purkayastha enthusiastically began researching truffles. He then bought his first truffles from Italy and sold them to restaurants around Fayetteville. Business boomed, and he began attending truffle festivals and high-end food shows around the country. At 16, the author met his first business partner, a wholesaler from Italy named Ubaldo. Two years later, after a decision to delay--and then forgo--college, Purkayastha was selling Ubaldo's truffles to celebrated restaurants all over New York City. The partnership ended, however, once he realized that his Italian partner was taking advantage of him because he was young. The author then formed a lucrative business with other partners (whom he eventually bought out) while expanding his company's line to include foraged edibles. His work took him all over Europe, where he learned some of the "dark, shadowy, shady" truths about the food business. Gun-toting hunters and wholesalers protected truffle patches as though they were drug stashes, and buyers, including Ubaldo, routinely bought truffles from Eastern Europe and sold them as the more coveted Italian or French varieties. Complemented by recipes and a glossary of exotic food terms, the book is a unique blend of bildungsroman and foodie/truffle primer sure to appeal to a wide audience. An informative and charming food and travel memoir.

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June 15, 2016

Foodies and chefs everywhere swoon at the mere mention of truffles. This memoir by Purkayastha, creator and owner of Regalis Foods, relates how and where these culinary delicacies grow, along with how they are distributed around the world, eventually winding up on restaurant menus in New York and Fayetteville, AR. A natural entrepreneur, Purkayastha, channeled his love for food and cooking into a global luxury food sourcing business at age 22. Readers follow him through his teenage years as he explores the ups and downs of making it in a business made up of both profit and fraud. Coauthored with West (Saving the Season), the book includes a glossary to help keep track of truffle varietals and food terms, plus recipes associated with pivotal moments in the narrative including squirrel and dumplings or black truffle ravioli with foie gras sauce. VERDICT This quirky coming-of-age narrative set in the world of high-end food purveyors will teach readers a thing or two about truffles and how the rarest ingredients arrive on the plates of the world's fanciest restaurants.--Courtney McDonald, Indiana Univ. Libs., Bloomington

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