Truffle ice cream is just one of the delicacies served to guests at Les Pastras after the hunt and farm tour are over. The taste is hard to describe, but think mushroom ice cream. (Jane Hirt / Chicago Tribune)
Take a tour of Les Pastras farm in Provence to see -- and taste -- where truffles come from.
After the truffle hunt at Les Pastras, the tubers are weighed and champagne is served. (Jane Hirt / Chicago Tribune)
Someone is assigned the truffle basket, and then the tour group sets off to learn about how truffles are found and farmed on Les Pastras during the truffle-hunting tour. (Jane Hirt / Chicago Tribune)
Les Pastras owner Johann Pepin, left, uses a screwdriver to pop a truffle out of the soil after the dogs scratched in the area. Guests on the tour also get the chance to dig up and handle the truffles. (Jane Hirt / Chicago Tribune)
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Trained dogs Mirabelle, left, and Eclair show handler Jean-Marc Hennequin where they’ve smelled a truffle by scratching in the dirt just above it. If Jean-Marc finds one, the dogs get a piece of ham. (Jane Hirt / Chicago Tribune)
After the truffle hunt is over, visitors adjourn to the patio to sample freshly sliced truffles such as these atop cheese. Truffles lose their freshness within days, which adds to their value and price. (Jane Hirt / Chicago Tribune)
Les Pastras also hosts honey bees. Bees in Provence are embattled, as they are everywhere, and Johann Pepin tries to save them by providing a hospitable, organic haven. (Jane Hirt / Chicago Tribune)
