I am sitting on a stool in a nondescript warehouse unit in Delta Road. The floor is cement and the walls painted in white. A row of commercial refrigerators hum quietly, intercepted occasionally with the rattling of trolleys transporting goods along the common corridor.
There is nothing glamourous about this setting, but behind the glossy panels of those refrigerators sit thousands of dollars’ worth of imported truffles, waiting to be transported to popular fine-dining restaurants such as Michelin-starred Odette and Zen. This warehouse belongs to Woodland Truffles. The “truffle concierge service” (as described on its website) was founded only in 2019, but now boasts between 300 to 400 active customers.
With such a thriving business, it is surprising to find out that its founders Benedict Dorai, 35, and Marcus Heng, 32, had no prior F&B experience. In fact, Woodland Truffles began – in typical start-up fashion – from their bedrooms. “We stored the truffles in wine chillers,” said Heng, chuckling at those early days.
“But the volume of the products was growing to the point that our bedrooms were not able to contain them,” Dorai added. Making deliveries from their homes – the former in Woodlands and the latter in Sengkang – to restaurants in the city centre also did not make logistic sense. Hence two years into the business, they moved into the current 1,000-sq-ft warehouse.
The pair’s friendship goes back many years. They met through mutual friends, just hanging out and playing football, said Dorai. After graduation, he was dabbling in some start-ups after a stint in the finance sector when Heng, who was then in insurance sales, hit upon the idea for Woodland Truffles.
They decided to partner up. Then, most suppliers sold truffles as part of a larger inventory. “The suppliers were not focused on truffles.
But that is important because for truffles to be truly fresh, you cannot store them and wait for orders to come in a week or two later,” said Heng. Woodland Truffles’ products are delivered to customers the same day – or the next at the very most – after arriving in Singapore.The early days were rough, recalled Heng.
“You had two young locals trying to push a European product to predominantly European chefs. It was really hard. We were not originally from the F&B industry, so we didn’t have the connections, the demand, the forecast, et cetera; we went in headfirst.
” The pair devoured any related literature online, such as the varieties (there are more than a hundred but only few are actively traded), sources of supplies, and so on. Once they’re done with their research, they ordered their first kilogramme of truffles and started cold-calling chefs about their incoming product. “Two or three chefs warmed up to us.
Pasta Bar was one of them. Once the shipment came, we went straight to the restaurant and showed the truffles to chef Alessandro Giustetti, who is currently chef de cuisine at Monti,” shared Heng. Giustetti accepted the whole shipment.
“That was our first sale,” said Heng with palpable gratitude. That first kilogramme led to the next. “Our efforts of canvassing continued,” Heng said.
Sometimes, busy chefs made them wait more than an hour before speaking with them, but the founders took it in their stride. “Over time, more chefs grew receptive, and our sales volume grew,” said Dorai. “Today, I would say we are quite established.
” Woodland Truffles’ products come from several suppliers across Italy, France, Spain, Chile, Hungary, Croatia, Australia and New Zealand. “If we tie ourselves exclusively to one supplier, we are at their mercy; if they give us truffles that are not good, the restaurants will get subpar products,” explained Dorai on this model that also ensures consistent supply. “Reliability is important.
If chefs call us and say they need truffles tomorrow, we can deliver.” Most of the founders’ learning came on the job. “My first taste of fresh truffles was actually from the first shipment,” Dorai smiled.
Today, he and Heng are skilled at distinguishing between good and inferior quality truffles – both through sight and smell. In spite of this, some hiccups are uncontrollable. “Sometimes, you cannot see that the truffles are spoilt from the outside.
Then when the chef shaved the truffle, they realised the core was bad and returned it to us,” Dorai highlighted. Losses have also come from damaged goods from offloaded cargo due to flight overload, or extended transport duration because of flight diversions from the on-going wars in Russia and the Middle East. Once, when the pair decided to use a different shipping company, boxes of truffles were left in the sun.
“The ice packs melted; we had to write off that whole shipment worth thousands of dollars. But we cannot blame the supplier. How we resolve such situations comes down to our relationship with them,” said Dorai.
The different truffle seasons through the year keep the founders busy: Europe supplies black winter truffles from January until March; a three- to four-week break and then June to August, black summer truffles come from Europe and black winter truffles from Australia. October marks the season of the prized white truffles that lasts till the end of the year. Quick to analyse trends and with astute business acumen, it comes as no surprise that eventually, the pair started selling their own truffle oils and pastes after chefs began enquiring.
During the pandemic, Heng and Dorai noted that home businesses were thriving. To diversify risks, as well as create a source of immediate cash flow (the truffle business works on a credit system), a business-to-consumer business selling tarts was conceived in 2022. Not long after, they chanced upon an empty shop unit at Jalan Tua Kong off East Coast Road and Les Mains Bakehouse was born.
But it did not take off immediately. “People only brought tarts as gifts or for birthdays. We changed direction and started selling more savoury food,” said Dorai.
A post shared by Les Mains Bakehouse (@lesmains.sg) He and Heng found the perfect baker in Evelyn Teo, 30, who studied in the Singapore branch of the Culinary Institute of America. Thereafter, she worked at Michelin-starred restaurant The Modern at New York’s Museum of Modern Art but returned home during the pandemic.
Her inventive bakes such as Poached Pear Jasmine Tea Custard Danish and black sea salt croissant started drawing crowds. To cater to the after-work crowd, from 3pm to 10pm daily, the cafe turns into Microcreamery where Teo dreams up creative gelato flavours – think extra virgin olive oil and strawberry, or truffle and mascarpone gelato topped with kumquat, soju-liquor marmalade and winter truffles (from Woodland Truffles, of course). “I like working with Ben and Marcus because they take care of their employees.
They respect and trust us, and treat us as equals. I am given full autonomy over many decisions in the kitchen and cafe. It’s also easy to communicate with them and get things done,” Teo said.
Like her, Woodland Truffles’ chef-clients are full of respect for its founders. “We have developed a fantastic relationship with Woodland Truffles over the years, consistently receiving high-end truffles at fair prices. Their products are remarkable for their consistent colour and aroma, and they uphold commitment to quality, choosing not to sell rather than offer subpar truffles,” commented chef Julien Royer of Odette.
Woodland Truffles is one of Odette’s regular suppliers. Their black truffles add a luxurious touch to dishes like Mozambique Langoustine Ravioli. Woodland Truffles’ products also embellish Zen’s signature dish such as the French Toast Grande Tradition 2008.
Chef Toraik Chua, one of Zen’s executive head chefs, highlights that the duo take pride in what they do, ensuing to provide the highest quality truffles. With more omakase restaurants incorporating truffles, Woodland Truffles also found themselves loyal customers like Michelin-starred Ushidoki Wagyu Kaiseki. Chef Hirohashi Nobuaki, who tops his sukiyaki and donabe dishes with truffle shavings, recalled Marcus visiting his restaurant to promote Woodland Truffles.
After that, he switched to the company as its truffle supplier. “They carry seasonal truffles of very good quality, with an earthy, musky aroma that even has whiskey notes sometimes,” described the Japanese chef who hails from Osaka. For Heng and Dorai, who went without pay for the first two years of their business, such testimonials are reassuring.
Aside from a driver, their current team also includes Beth Aye who handles operations and administration, Three months ago, they added another team member to handle a new arm of their business, Meat Estate, which markets grass-fed meat to restaurants. The ideas flow on. During the interview, Heng showed me a box of Lions Mane mushrooms from Fogo Fungi – another local start-up.
Woodland Truffles is now also distributing and selling its locally grown gourmet mushrooms so that Fogo Fungi’s team can focus on growing them. With an annual turnover of S$2 million, Woodland Truffles has come a long way. But its founders are not resting on their laurels.
“We aim to grow Woodland Truffles as big as we can,” said Heng. Judging by the pair’s alchemy of resilience, creativity, honesty and bravura, this dream is not too far on the horizon..
