Rico: Adventures of a Truffle Dog

July 5, 2016April 16, 2024 / Laura Martin Bacon / Leave a comment

Writer’s Note: When it comes to truffle tales, dogs are among the world’s most eloquent raconteurs. Here’s one of my all-time favorite canine interviews, originally published in the Wild River Review.

There’s something about the forest that brings out the adventurer in every dog – and when you add truffles to the scene, the ultimate companion for woodland discoveries is my canine pal, Rico.

Like many of the world’s great truffle dogs, Rico is a Lagotto Romagnolo – a rare Italian breed that originated with the ancient Etruscans. Rico was born into a distinguished family of truffle hunters in the Sicilian village of Mazara del Vallo, arriving in America as a puppy with a keen nose for exploration.

Like many Sicilians, Rico has a charming talent for storytelling. He agreed to grant this exclusive interview if he could recount the truffle tales in his own words – read on for our question and answer session!

Lagotto Romagnolo Baroque Painting by Guercino

How did you first learn to hunt truffles, Rico?

When I was a tiny puppy in Sicily, the only toy I had was a tartufo (that’s Italian for ‘truffle’) sewn into a cloth bag called a borsa. Mario, my first tartufaio (truffle hunter), started my training by throwing the borsa for me to retrieve – and giving me a treat when I brought it back to him.

When that got really easy, Mario started hiding the borsa so I’d have to search for it with my nose. Next, I learned the secret of being a champion truffle dog: you have to really dig truffles – literally. Now, when I wanted a treat, I had to sniff out the borsa wherever Mario had buried it. He didn’t make it easy, but it turns out I’ve got a great nose and tireless paws.

These days, I’m a truffle hunting pro who travels all over the world – if there’s a truffle (or even truffle spores) anywhere around, you can count on me to bring you the treasure!

Puppyhood Truffle Hunting in Sicily

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Craig Ramini & Audrey Hitchcock: For the Love of Moms & Mozzarella

May 8, 2016May 12, 2016 / Laura Martin Bacon / Leave a comment

by Laura Martin Bacon

Writer’s Note: Two years ago I wrote a joyful story about Ramini Mozzarella, a Northern California farm founded on love and dreams. It was the story of Craig Ramini, his wife Audrey Hitchcock—and their endearing family of water buffalo, who were helping their human guardians produce some of the first authentic mozzarella di bufala in the U.S.

Today, the story and labor of love continues, but without its patriarch. In 2014, Craig was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma—and less than a year later, the cancer took his life. These days, Audrey is a “single mom” of a growing family of water buffalo—and the valiant matriarch of the farm and artisan cheesemaking venture.

It hasn’t been easy. But the seasons of farm life and its edible legacies go on. As Audrey says, “Ramini Mozzarella is our baby: Craig and I raised it together and our family will live on.” Below is the story of then and now—and a dream that endures forever.

THEN: May, 2014

At Ramini Mozzarella in Northern California’s pastoral Marin County, every day is Mother’s Day.

“This is a very female-oriented society here on the farm,” Craig Ramini tells me. “Everything comes down to the mothers and their babies.”

Any mom will tell you that the secret ingredient in her signature dish is love—and water buffalo moms are no exception.

These majestic females are the proud producers of the decadently rich, creamy milk that’s the foundation for one of the world’s most legendary cheeses: authentic mozzarella di bufala.

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Alf Bexfield: Harvesting a Century of Memories

November 5, 2014March 11, 2015 / Laura Martin Bacon / Leave a comment

by Laura Martin Bacon

There are few legacies as powerful and enduring as the one Alf Bexfield left to his family – and everyone with a passion for farming, innovation and growth. For over a century, he sowed and harvested the seeds of change, leaving our world a far better place when he passed on at the age of 101.

In celebration of what would have been his 102^nd birthday, it’s a pleasure and privilege to add Alf’s story (originally published in the November 2012 Issue of the Wild River Review) to our Edible Legacies archives:

“It is unlikely that any generation in history has seen the changes that my generation has. I can vividly remember my dad, James Scarlet Bexfield, driving oxen – and here we are today with everything computerized and able to put a man on the moon. What a change in one man’s lifetime!”

At nearly 100 years old, Alf Bexfield is a vigorous man with a farmer’s strong hands, a twinkle in his blue eyes and a raconteur’s lilt in his voice. It’s not surprising that he seems to love music as much as farming – and that the down-home twang of Alf’s banjo has accompanied a long lifetime of adventures.

When you listen to Alf tell his stories, you realize how long a century truly is. Over ten of the most vibrant decades in North America’s history, Alf has witnessed the extraordinary journey from homesteads, covered wagons and living-off-the-land to a tech-savvy society charged by the superpowers of computers, cell phones and corporate-owned mega-farms.

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