On marzo - 9 - 2013
By Francesco Cerea (Academician of Italian Cuisine) and Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi
According to the Latins Dulcis In Fundo, i.e. we save the sweet/best for last, but during the Art&Pastry Festival the sweet is served before, during and after.
The city of Lugano, Switzerland, has hosted on the 2nd and 3rd of March the first edition of the festival that focuses on the art of fine pastry. This event felt the urge to explicate a field that is rapidly growing through new paths, thanks to contemporary talents, along with the new generation of pastry master chefs.
The venue that hosted the event, the Palazzo dei Congressi in Lugano, was chosen with care, as it is the major junction of Italian and Swiss confectionary tradition. The presence of international guests has given an outstanding exposure to this exquisite celebration of the taste buds. Maître chocolatiers, Pastry Master Chefs, Cake Designers, all gathered to discuss, in the course of the morning debates, the fine art of delighting the sweet tooth:“Cinque sensi e una tecnica” (Five senses and one technique) and Pasticceria e Leggerezza” (Pastry and Levity).
The afternoons were dedicated to some very exclusive workshops, where illustrious lecturers unveiled the secrets of this alluring art form. The epitome of such productive extravagance was the the Panettone Cup, awarding the best ‘Panettone’ (a typical Christmas sweet bread loaf originally from Milan, and just as popular in Canton Ticino), in its traditional form as well as in its wackiest contemporary revival.
To conclude the magical experience, embracing all senses, the Sweet Art Gallery exhibited the paintings, with food related themes, of some very talented artists. Undoubtably Art&Pastry has set the ground work to becoming a milestone of future tributes concerning the art of pastry. After all as Ernestine Ulmer once said “Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first!”
