Iginio Massari Alta Pasticceria - Fidenza Village

Balance, elegance and emotion. Balance is essential, because no ingredient should overpower the others. Elegance is what captures the eye, because the eye wants its share too. But then comes emotion. A dessert can be technically perfect, but if it doesn’t leave a memory, what kind of dessert is it? True perfection is when the pleasure lingers long after the last bite.

Never stop learning. Curiosity is the engine behind everything. Those who think they have arrived have already started to stand still. I’ve been doing this job for a lifetime, and every day I still look for something to improve. Absolute perfection probably doesn’t exist, but that doesn’t mean we should stop chasing it. On the contrary, that is exactly what makes our work so fascinating. And there is one more thing to remember: talent without discipline is of little use.

Tradition should not be a cage; it should be a starting point. Panettone, for example, is a dessert with an extraordinary history, yet over the years we have kept refining it. At Fidenza Village we want to bring exactly this philosophy: respect for the great classics, together with the desire to surprise. For me, novelty doesn’t have to be strange at all costs. It has to be something that, when you taste it, makes you want to taste it again. Otherwise, it’s just a publicity stunt.

The most beautiful dessert is always the one I have yet to make, because if I stopped to celebrate those of the past, I would no longer have a reason to get up in the morning and go to the workshop. But there is one dessert I carry in my heart and have never managed to recreate exactly: my mother’s millefoglie with Bavarian cream. It had an extraordinary lightness. I have tried many times to find that flavour again, but I believe there was an ingredient impossible to replicate: the emotion of childhood. And that cannot be put on the scales.

An enormous value. Technology allows us to communicate with anyone, but it cannot replace the pleasure of being together. Christmas is family, it is sharing, it is the time we choose to dedicate to the people we love. Panettone, after all, represents exactly this: a dessert that is brought to the centre of the table, cut and shared. It is not made to be eaten alone in front of a screen. And let’s face it, a greeting message is easily forgotten. The memory of a beautiful moment spent together remains.

Beauty has always been important in pastry-making, long before social media existed. A dessert must first win over the eyes, but then it must keep its promise to the palate. Today I see spectacular creations that look like works of art. That’s wonderful, as long as they are also good. Because if a dessert is beautiful to photograph but gives no pleasure when you eat it, then we have chosen the wrong profession. We are pastry chefs, not set designers. Aesthetics must serve flavour, never the other way around.

We must teach children to recognise the authentic flavour of things. Let them taste quality ingredients, explain where they come from, and accustom them to variety and not only to what is very sweet. Taste can be educated, just as intelligence is educated. And above all, we must set an example. We cannot expect a child to appreciate quality if we adults are the first to always choose the easy way. A good dessert doesn’t have to be very sugary. It has to be balanced. And children are much smarter than we think: when something is truly good, they notice.

The scents of my mother’s kitchen. She was an extraordinary cook, and I grew up surrounded by creams, doughs and preparations that fascinated me. I still remember those scents, that feeling of anticipation, the curiosity to find out what she was preparing. They are memories that never age. I believe Christmas has this power: to take us back, even just for a moment, to when we were children. And often a single scent is enough to travel back seventy years.

We have a certain fondness for the bussolà bresciano, but of course panettone is the King of Christmas. At home, in any case, the celebration is made above all of people, of the table and of habits that repeat year after year. These are the things that make Christmas special.

The mistake is thinking that buying a good panettone is enough to enjoy it at its best. Serving matters too. A panettone kept in an environment that is too cold loses part of its softness and aromatic expression. It should be brought to the right temperature, giving it time to express all its fragrances. And there is no need to cover it with a thousand creams or accompaniments: if the raw material is excellent, the dessert should be the star. Simplicity, when there is quality, is always the best choice.

With a good sweet Moscato, one with a nice freshness and an acidic note that cleanses the palate. Or with a Marsala, which I personally enjoy very much. The important thing is to seek harmony, not to add sweetness to sweetness without judgement.