Trouble with the truffle

It was the £28,000 truffle which turned into the world's most expensive culinary disaster when it was left to rot in the fridge of a London restaurant.

Now the Italians want it back. A week after the truffle was quietly interred in the chef 's garden, officials from the Italian village where the delicacy was found have asked for it to be returned for a decent burial.

Its final resting place will now be in the Tuscan hills where it was auctioned for charity three weeks ago to Michelin-starred restaurant Zafferano.

The 852g white truff le was bought by a syndicate of Zafferano clients including Gwyneth Paltrow, Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich and bankers from Goldman Sachs.

However, last week - before a single shaving of tuber magnatum could be sprinkled over their fettuccine - head chef Andy Needham went on a trip to Italy to buy more truffles, taking with him the only keys to the fridge.

By the time he got back the truffle had gone off. The only person who tasted it was Standard journalist Nick Curtis, who was invited to sample it at the restaurant in Lowndes Street. Now organisers of the auction and council officials from the village of San Miniato have asked for it to be returned.

Giselle Oberti, who organised the auction, said: "We will fly to London this week to pick it up and take it back to where it was found. Maybe it will help create another even bigger white truffle."

Mrs Oberti added: "It's right that locals can pay their respects." Zafferano would receive 900g of Tuscan white truffles as "a token of our gratitude", she said.

The truffle would have been big enough for 70 of Zafferano's signature dishes.