Luca Poncini, fourth generation of pastry chefs from Maggia in Switzerland, won first place on the podium of the Chocolate Panettone World Cup which took place at the Palazzo dei Congressi in Lugano. The recognition came from an international jury composed of Gianbattista Montanari (Italy, Corman demonstrator and panettone expert), Juan Pablo Colubri (Argentina, Maître Chocolatier), François Stahl (Switzerland, Maître Chocolatier), Jimmy Griffin (Ireland, Master Baker) , Eugenio Morrone (Italy, World Champion), Vittorio Santoro (Italy, Food Cast Director), Bruno Buletti (Switzerland, Panettone Specialist), Davide Malizia (Italy, Artistic Sugar World Champion.
On the other hand, the second and third places were the prerogative of Italian pastry chefs, conquered respectively by Giuseppe Mascolo from Visciano in the province of Naples and Stefano Ferrante, Pasticceria Ferrante in Campomorone (Genoa).
Luca Poncini has a passion for sugar, flour and yeast in his blood. It was in fact 1904 when the great-grandfather Augusto Poncini founded the Poncini Bakery and Pastry Shop. Since then the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren have carried on the work and commitment in the creation of unique sweets.
With the entry into the company in 1985, in addition to the most disparate qualities of bread, pastry and cakes, the Poncini Bakery Pastry Shop has specialized in the production of panettone and colomba, a field in which it excels in Canton Ticino. Thanks to continuous professional updates, the search for new combinations and the high quality of the recipes, the Poncini Bakery Pastry Shop has had the opportunity to make itself known and appreciated in Ticino, in Switzerland and abroad.
Giuseppe Mascolo is a pastry chef from Campania, precisely Visciano di Nola (Italy). His passion for pastry was born when he was only 11 when he was very small after school he attended the pastry shop in the village.
After coming of age, he decides to transform his passion into art and begins to attend well-known local pastry shops and courses of great technical depth. He becomes aware that his strong branch is leavened products and he gets so close to the Lombard, Piedmontese and Ligurian schools with the great masters such as Zoia, Massari, Burselli, Morandin and Bazzoli. In 2005 he gave life to his Mascolo Visciano pastry shop, churning out delicacies of all kinds, in 2017 he began to attend national competitions and in just four years he won 18 national trophies. For two years he has changed the method of managing the yeast and the fermentation process, making a very soft and tasty panettone.
Stefano Ferrante, Ferrante pastry shop in Campomorone (Genoa). He began his journey at the age of 17 under the watchful and severe eye of his father Massimo. He acquires more and more experience until he becomes production manager of the laboratory. He obtains excellent results in the production of panettone and leavened products and enriches his skills by working with one of the most prestigious chocolatiers in France, Patrick Roger.
