For the first time in decades, King Charles has a new pet dog, a lagotto Romagnolo called Snuff. Queen Camilla is said to have given him the puppy, perhaps more for her benefit than his. She is thought to be mad about foraging for fungi, especially in the area surrounding her home in Wiltshire, where the chalky terroir is famous for an abundance of Burgundy truffles. Snuff is the perfect breed to find them.

The lagotto hails from my home region of Emilia Romagna, and in recent years the dogs have surpassed pigs as the go-to tool for truffling. I can only surmise too many fingers were lost retrieving a precious truffle from a 200lb swine. My own lagotto, named Alba, accompanies me everywhere, especially in autumn, as we venture out truffle-hunting to furnish my two restaurants in Kensingto

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