Alfonso Pepe, one of the greatest Italian pastry chefs has passed away. He fought for two years against an incurable disease, never giving in to life's pain and defeat, working with passion, enthusiasm and professional dedication right up to the end. First&Food had dedicated to him a large article on December 8, 2018. Last Christmas he sent us a message, "Among many difficulties I will continue, without giving up", which more than anything makes us understand what man was made of. To honor the memory of this unforgettable protagonist of Italian pastry, a great master, humble and tenacious, with a great human dimension, who wrote an important page in the redemption of Southern Italy's food and wine, we re-propose the first part of the article published in time: “A life for Panettone. Alfonso Pepe Mastro Dolciere, from Sant'Egidio di Monte Albino, in the province of Salerno, on the slopes of the Lattari mountains, is used to records.
It was the first pastry chef to make a signature panettone south of the Rubicon, in Campania, but above all he was the only pastry chef to win the Premio Re Panettone four times, the most important in Italy, defeating, or rather, humiliating, all the Lombardi competitors (and calculating that Panettone is a historic Milanese sweet, that's no small thing) but also Piedmontese (who have a lot to teach all of Italy in terms of sweets), and so on. And he has collected many prizes such as at the Palazzo Caracciolo Mg Sofitel in Naples where a jury of sacred pastry chefs of the caliber of Igino Massari, recognized Grand Master of all, Gino Fabbri President of the Academy of Italian Pastry Masters, Francesco Boccia Champion of Mondo di Pasticceria awarded him the first prize for Panettone with Vesuvius apricots and sweet Mel di Antonio Caggiano. But we could continue with another prestigious competition, "Slowfood, Dolce Natale".
Pepe had to contend with panettone from: Pasticceria Loison in Costabissara, in the province of Vicenza; Sal De Riso from Minori; Fiasconaro brothers of Castelbuono in the province of Palermo; Pastry Veneto (Brescia) of Iginio Massari. And once again the challenge was won. And it wasn't limited to panettone, because his curiosity also pushed him to the Easter ground of the Colomba and even on this occasion he was never one step behind. In a blind test of the ten best Italian pastry chefs, Paolo Massobrio spoke of the "surprise of the sublimation of Alfonso Pepe's leavened products" and Pepe ranked first, beating everyone, with this reasoning:
“Perfect. We could close the description here, and leave any further comment to your taste. Perfect from the outset, in the fine and well-distributed honeycomb. Impeccable in the perfumes, of fresh butter, almonds, eggs. When tasted, it is striking for its fragrance and balance. Less "explosive" than that of Iginio Massari, but with a unique elegance. If the dove is the art of dough, here it is, the perfect dough”. And still to stay on the record, it is not bad to remember that Alfonso Pepe from his laboratory in Sant'Egidio di Monte Albino on the road that leads from Ravello to the Amalfi coast where he is helped by the Prisco brothers, Giuseppe and Anna bakes an average of 50.000 artisanal panettone the year…"
The following link to the article with the profile of the great master and to panettone recipe which was among the most clicked on of those offered weekly by First&Food.
