Italian contemporary pastry-making presents its future

Identità Milano 2020 will have two great moments dedicated to the art of desserts, just like what happened in the past few years. This time, however, their order will be reversed: in 2019 Dossier Dessert started on the Saturday afternoon, while Pasticceria italiana contemporanea took place the entire Monday. This year is the opposite: Dossier Dessert in the Auditorium on Monday, while Pasticceria italiana contemporanea (in collaboration with Petra® Molino Quaglia and Valrhona) will take place on the Sunday, the entire day in Sala Blu 2 where we'll investigate the development of Italian pastry-making in a long and detailed focus.

Once again, the programme is rich and inspiring, with the usual mix of masters and pupils, acclaimed professionals, and new faces. Speaking of masters, the programme of course had to begin, at 10.45 am, with one of the lighthouses of Italian gastronomy – who is also, incidentally, a pastry-chef – the great Corrado Assenza (Caffè Sicilia, Noto - Syracuse), a man of records at the congress, the only to have spoken in all 16 editions of Identità Milano. This time he will give as many as three talks: the sweet-sweet one here, then on Saturday in the Auditorium where he will speak of "being responsible towards one's region" and then again on Sunday, in the same hall, with a four-handed-two-headed talk with Massimiliano Alajmo.

But let's move back to the same day in Sala Blu 2, to Pasticceria italiana contemporanea. After the master-pastry-chef from Noto, it will be the turn of Gianni Zaghetto of Pasticceria Racca in Padua, now one of Molino Quaglia's Petra Selected Partners. «We always change scenario in pastry making, depending on the season and the period. Always tracing a leitmotiv and finding a common elements between sweet and visual offer. In the name of utmost coherence and of a harmonious involvement of the entire staff».

At 11.50 am Nicola Olivieri, of Olivieri 1882 in Arzignano (Vicenza) will get on the stage; for over 130 years his family has been working in an artisanal way, passionately kneading and following every process. Nicola with his brother Andrea is the fifth generation of a great delicious dynasty.

Right after that, at 12.40 pm, it will be the turn of Angelica Giannuzzi, born in Castellana Grotte (Apulia) in 1982. She's the pastry-chef at Pashà in Conversano (Bari) led in the dining room by patron Antonello Magistà and in the kitchen by Antonio Zaccardi, with whom Angelica has shared twenty years of professional and personal life.

At 1.30 pm the first part ends with Fabio Longhin of Pasticceria Chiara in Olgiate Olona (Varese): he was born and raised in the pastry-shop opened by his parents in 1974 (dad Gianni and mum Chiara of course), so much so he says: «I'm the second-born, the pastry-shop came first».

After the pause, we will continue at 3.20 pm with Anna Sartori of Pasticceria Sartori in Erba (Como); this is also a family story. The shop was born in 1958, when her parents - Francesco Sartori and Carolina Rigamonti – opened a gelateria which later became one of the most delicious places in town.

At 4.10 pm there will be Diletta Zenna of Lazzaro 1915 in Pontelongo (Padua). She's the sweet soul of the starred restaurant while her husband Piergiorgio Siviero is the chef. It's a place of centennial traditions that blended a classic cuisine to the creative whim of the young generations when Siviero, after 5 years of experience abroad, including Alain Ducasse, decided to return home to continue the work his grandfather Lazzaro started in 1915 and his parents Paolo and Maria Pia and uncle Giovanni and auntie Dilva then continued.

Gran finale. First, at 5 pm, with Nicola Di Lena, pastry chef at Seta at the Mandarin Oriental in Milan: for 16 years now in the team of Antonio Guida, he was born in Switzerland to father from Apulia and mother from Sicily, and then lived in Ginosa, Taranto. He spent many of his summers in the pastry shop of his uncle, in Santa Teresa Riva, a small town overlooking the Ionian Sea between Giardini Naxos and Messina.

Then, at 5.50 pm, the last to speak will be Fabrizio Fiorani, "Best Pastry Chef" for the Asia's 50Best Restaurants when he was working in Tokyo at Luca Fantin's restaurant. He's now a pastry-consultant and gave us a good presentation of his ideas here, see Fabrizio Fiorani: portiamo nell'alta cucina il gelato, la zuppa inglese.

Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso 

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