Why Many Chefs Like Anthony Bourdain Don’t Use Truffle Oil

When you hear truffle oil you’re immediately reminded of the delicious, most expensive fungus,truffles. But chefs like Anthony Bourdain, Gordon Ramsay and Martha Stewart don’t like the sound of it. More precisely they hate it. But why? Anthony Bourdain says, “Let it be stated here,unto forever and eternity, truffle oil is not food.”

Here’s the reason: truffle oil does not contain any truffles. Yes, shocking but true, it does not have the actual fungus but an added flavour to olive or sunflower oil that gives you a similar taste. The oil is therefore not so expensive and probably the reason why chefs and cooks use it for the truffle-like flavour and aroma. The “natural flavour” added is 1,2 – dithiapentane which is a compound that is one amongst the hundreds that gives truffles their flavours.

Here’s what our other chefs have to say. “I think truffle oil is one of the few ingredients that doesn’t belong in anyone’s kitchen” says Martha Stewart. Gordon Ramsay says, “(It’s) one of the most pungent, ridiculous ingredients ever known to (a) chef.”