Reserve your seat: Champagne-and-truffle dinner at Café Boulud awaits

One of the most lavish annual dinner events at Café Boulud in Palm Beach is Dec. 14, highlighting prized black Perigord truffles from France and white Alba truffles from Italy.

An extravagant six-course truffle-enhanced menu by executive chef Dieter Samijn, head pastry chef Julie Franceschini and sommelier David Sauer will be paired with fine Champagnes.

Advance reservations are required for the event, which is $650 a person and begins at 6:30 p.m. with a reception followed by dinner at 7 p.m.

The annual dinner reflects, in part, how much the French restaurant’s mastermind, Daniel Boulud, appreciates truffles, which are underground-growing forest fungi in season through December.

While black and white truffles are different in various respects, their pungent aroma and earthy flavor are adored by countless connoisseurs.

Just a small amount from one of the round and lumpy tubers is enough to enrich a dish. That’s all Boulud needed decades ago to discover a “most attractive flavor” when he first tried truffles as a 14-year-old chef’s apprentice in France.

The Dec. 14 Champagne-and-truffle dinner at Café Boulud will start with a beignet canape with scallop, black truffle, caviar and hazelnut.

Tuna crudo with black-truffle vinaigrette, kelp and crispy shallot is the first course. Courses to follow: ravioli with mascarpone and white truffle, and striped bass with black-truffle butter, celery root and sunchokes.

Pheasant ballotine with foie gras, white truffle, savoy cabbage and Champagne-and-white-truffle sauce is the next course.

After a cheese course of brillat savarin with black truffle, dessert will showcase vanilla moelleux, raspberry jam and tea ice cream.

Featured pairings at the dinner are set to include Laurent-Perriet Millesime Brut 2012; Daniel-Etienne Defaix, Vaillon, Chablis Premier Cru 2010; Meo-Camuzet Volnay 2018; Oddero Barolo, Vignarionda Riserva 2015; Angelo Negro, Perdaudin, Roero Arneis 2020; and Deutz Amour de Deutz Rosé 2009.

For more information or to make a reservation, call Café Boulud at 561-655-6060 or visit cafeboulud.com/palmbeach.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Annual at Café Boulud reflects chef's lifelong appreciation of truffles