The Indian Man Who Conquered New York’s Truffle Market

“So how many grams do you think you’ll need?” “It’s still 2500 a pound–I think I have an 80gm piece for you.”

In a four-year-old video produced by VICE, a deal is underway but it’s not what viewers think. The goods on offer are rare truffles, the customers are Michelin-star chefs, and the supplier? ‘Truffle Boy’, Ian Purkayastha. A day in the life of Ian? Suffice to say a lot has changed since 2014.

Today, the 25-year-old’s specialty food company, Regalis, is worth $10 million and counting. Speaking to the food entrepreneur who has become New York’s go-to guy for truffles, he’s quick to clarify me that his company is “a purveyor of all things rare and unusual–not necessarily expensive.” Originally from Houston, Texas, Ian became fascinated with this ingredient that so few know about (because of how difficult it is to find and forage) extremely early on in life. “I started spending a lot of time with my uncle in Arkansas who was an archaeologist and an avid outdoorsman. He started showing me how to forage for wild mushrooms and I became totally obsessed with all things mushroom-related. So, I wanted to try truffles because they’re considered the king of all mushroom species.” He would get his chance on a visiting trip to Houston when he was invited out for a nice meal. Ian remembers exactly what he ordered at that fateful Italian restaurant–a black truffle ravioli with a foie gras sauce–and describes the experience as “a sensory overload”.

Hungry for more, Ian returned to Arkansas and tried to convince his parents to buy him a truffle or two so he could try his hand at cooking them. His request was rejected because truffles are exorbitantly priced but if there’s one thing Ian and his company Regalis are proof of, it’s that he’s not one to back down. He pooled together savings from prior birthdays and Christmases to buy a kilo of black summer truffles on French ebay. Truffles, as you would imagine, are extremely perishable (a factor that drives up their price even further) and Ian realised that, apart from the couple he wanted for himself, it would be a shame to let the truffles go to waste. “So I tried cold calling three local restaurants in my hometown and was successful. I showed up with a box, a scale and an invoice book and sold everything except for two truffles which I cooked with.”

He continues, “It was really amazing and I kept reinvesting my profits into larger and larger orders. Eventually I had a little company and I turned my parents’ car garage into a mini warehouse with shipping boxes, insulated styrofoam boxes and cool packs and I started shipping to different restaurants.” Ian was still in high school when he was hired by an Italian company that was looking for someone to import truffles into New York, break them into smaller shipments, and find customers across the US. On an unusual food journey already, he convinced his parents to let him defer college and move to New York, which they reluctantly did. “The Italians established an office for me in New Jersey and it was in a seedy part of town, right above a methamphetamine clinic.” Coupled with the fact that the Ian was slowly finding his way around an industry that (he tells me) is quite corrupt, the fact that “the idyllic reason that I wanted to move to New York was never apparent” made his early years in New York quite tough. It was also around the same time he had a falling out with the Italian company over wages.

“So I left, found investors and ultimately started my own company.” Ian tells me.

In the time that has passed since, Ian was able to save his company from shutting down four years ago, firmly cemented his (and Regalis’) position as an authority on all things truffle and authored a book. Chronicling his time navigating the luxury food industry and market, his autobiography is full of wonderful insight (almost as rare as the truffles he sells). Chef David Chang at Momufuko is one of Ian’s regular customers and describes him as a ‘Luxury Foods Google’, even as Ian explains the difference between the Black Winter Truffle from Spain and France, and the Winter White Truffle from Italy and Eastern Europe, to me over a Skype call. Indeed what is most impressive about this truffle broker, New York’s finest, is his approach to business. “I’ve become someone chefs can look to for a candid explanation of what ingredients they’re buying and it’s very humbling because they trust me.” Two hundred chefs to be precise, as Ian brings these luxury goods to 90% of New York’s Michelin-star restaurants.

A diverse range of products is one reason that Regalis has been able to set itself apart from other truffle companies. Exotic fruit like the banana-mango hybrid paw-paw, seafood, caviar and truffles and other wide mushrooms are available, as well as a line of preserve truffles at a lower price point such as oils, and butters and vinegars. However, it’s really Ian’s street-smarts, sheer will and commitment to transparency that has seen Regalis become the forerunner in the international truffle market. “Being in this industry has opened my eyes to the bastardisation of many food products but every single category of food product we sell, there’s levels of manipulation. What I try to do is be as educational as possible to the consumer and the chef.” A big part of this is knowing when to cut losses, how to keep people interested in such a seasonal product and adaptability. On his biggest challenge, he says “everything we sell comes from faraway places and is super perishable so, logistically speaking, we have struggles everyday with getting product in a timely manner”

Since the VICE video was shot, Ian’s life has changed quite dramatically. Where, once, he would frequent Newark airport every single day to pick up shipments and cold-call restaurants to move his product, today a lot of his time is spent planning Regalis’ way forward. This is not to say he’s any less involved in the day-to-day running of the company. “I predominantly handle sales and sourcing new products, ensuring everything is on track. I basically navigate the larger deals and if there’s a restaurant opening, I go three times a week to have face time with consumers. I’m constantly trying to source new products and develop new product lines.” With Michelin-star chefs on speed dial, counting on Ian to add some umami to their menu, he’s an extremely hands-on entrepreneur and personally inspects every single truffle Regalis sells. Currently, Ian sources from around 7 different countries, across 15 regions, making his selection vast and extremely tempting.

Drawing on his experiences as a 16-year-old boy who found himself smack in the centre of a murky business, as a food entrepreneur trying to save his company and, now, as a leading authority on truffles, I ask him what the future is looking like. He tells me that, for now, things are looking good. The company’s been growing from strength to strength (at about 16% each year) and, with high-end stockists like Williams Sonoma carrying his range of rare ingredients, he’s looking at expanding. First to Chicago, possibly Los Angeles, and countries like Japan and Australia? What about a homecoming for the ‘Truffle Prince’ who was born to an Indian father and Texan mother? Maybe one day, Ian says and I can only assume that the mind of this natural-born hustler is drawing up plans to conquer the world.

One black winter truffle at a time.