Being a Master of Wine, or connoisseur of Carpathian folk music, is to the Noughties what a MasterCard was to the Seventies - the ultimate in one-upmanship.

Knowledge, it appears, is the new wonga.

The latest example of this takes place this Friday when smart Marylebone Italian restaurant La Cucina Caldesi hosts an evening dedicated to learning about and tasting this season's truffles. You see, it's no longer enough to be able to simply afford the buggers, now you have to be able to thrill your guests with a selection of truffly anecdotes.

At the sublimely monikered 'Truffle Evening', you can learn everything there is to know about these divine specimens courtesy of Bruno Giorgi, AKA 'The Truffle Man', who supplies London’s top restaurants.