Truffle of the Year 2026 awarded to Giovanni Ferrero
Date of the event:
The Truffle of the Year 2026 is awarded to Giovanni Ferrero, entrepreneur and executive chairman of the confectionery multinational Ferrero, in a ceremony held on Monday 30 November 2026 at 6 p.m. at the Teatro Sociale "Giorgio Busca" in Alba. The award is given by the City of Alba and the Ente Fiera on the occasion of the 96th Alba International White Truffle Fair, open until 6 December 2026 and dedicated this year to the theme of "Authentic Relationships" [1][2].
The award
The Truffle of the Year is an Alba tradition inspired by the gifts that farmers of the Langhe and Roero areas used to give, around Christmas time, to the authorities or professionals they dealt with — a tradition later taken up by the city's institutions and by truffle merchants, first and foremost Giacomo Morra and Roberto Ponzio. Among the figures who have received the award are John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Pope John Paul II and Sandro Pertini, as well as, more recently, Giovanni Malagò, Gabriele Gravina and Paolo Conte [2].
The Ferrero anniversary
The ceremony coincides with the 80th anniversary of the founding of Ferrero, born in Alba in 1946, when Pietro Ferrero made the first Ferrero-branded product in his workshop in via Rattazzi, the Pasta Gianduja or Giandujot, a solid hazelnut-based paste inspired by Turin tradition, sliced and eaten on bread [2].
The statements
Alba's mayor Alberto Gatto said that «the history of Ferrero and that of Alba are deeply intertwined», recalling that «eighty years ago it all began here, in a city that has changed and developed over time, just like the company» [1][2]. Piedmont Region president Alberto Cirio described the awarding of the recognition to Giovanni Ferrero as «a tribute» to the city of Alba, recalling among previous recipients Sophia Loren and Marcello Lippi [1][2].
Sources
- Alba, il tartufo dell'anno 2026 a Giovanni Ferrero — ANSA Piemonte, 13 November 2026
- Giovanni Ferrero e il tartufo dell'anno 2026 — la Repubblica Torino, 13 November 2026