Скачать или смотреть World pastry chefs compete for title of best Panettone

(27 Oct 2020) LEAD IN:
Pastry chefs from around the globe have been competing in Italy for the title of best panettone maker.
The traditional sweet bread is a popular treat around the Christmas season.

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Any one of them could be the winner.
Pastry chefs have gathered to find out who makes the tastiest traditional Italian sweet bread, panettone.
This is the 'Best Panetonne in the World Championship'. Despite its global name, 80 percent of competitors are from Italy.
Behind closed doors, a panel of judges has been smelling, nibbling and rating their entries.
These pastry heavyweights have the tough job of choosing between 300 competitors.
It's a marathon tasting where they strain their palates in search of the winning panettone in three categories: innovative, decorative and classic.
The judges are members of the International Federation of Pastry Chefs, Gelato Makers and Chocolatiers (FIPGC).
Roberto Lestani is their president.
"What we look for in a classic panettone is based on several criteria, from colour and cut, to the baking and flavour, where you can detect the noble ingredients used by the pastry chef," he explains.
Making a panettone calls for perfect yeast, quality ingredients and lots of experience.
Amadeo Donatone has all three.
The multi-awarded pastry chef chose to sit out the competition this year.
His pastry shop near Rome churns out 1,200 artisanal panettones each Christmas season. He says there are many rookie mistakes.
"The most difficult part is knowing how to add ingredients little by little because if you make a mistake – maybe you put too many eggs or too much butter – the dough tears and then it cannot be fixed," he says.
With coronavirus cases increasing throughout Italy, all contestants were asked to mail in their entries this year.  
While most of the contestants are from Italy, entries are accepted from all over the world.
Among the countries represented here are Spain, Brazil, Japan, China and the United States.
Innovative panettones are draped with everything from ginger and nuts to spicy chocolate and rum. But in the classic category, chefs must stick to traditional flavours: almonds, raisins and candied citrus.
The judges are world champions and well-known instructors in the artisan pastry arena.
Their job requires three days of savouring, with frequent breaks to allow their taste buds and nose to recover from all the intense flavors.   
"I don't just see myself as a judge, but also as a peer because in reality we are all colleagues," says Lestani.  
"So you may find a contestant with a genius idea that adds value to an artisan product, because the beauty of being artisans is having artistic inspiration and creative special products that you may not find on the market."
The time has come to announce the winners.
The first champion in the classic category is Italian Francesco Luni.
Ruggiero Carli is named as another champion in the same category.    
Francesco Luni is a third-generation pastry chef from Padova.
"I dedicate this first prize to my dad who passed away last year, he was my teacher, I always worked alongside him, and I carry him with me in my heart, thanks dad," he says.
"It's a classic panettone, artisanal, hand-made, produced with love by myself and my pastry chefs!" says Carli.
The event is meant to draw enthusiasts to panettone-making.  But for the champions, the award opens a path to fame and recognition in the pastry world, weeks ahead of the panettone season.   
Artisanal panettones sell for about 25 Euros per kilo.  Classic panettones are approximately one kilogram in weight.

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