It is appropriate to say Country that you go ... Panettone that you find. The Christmas sweet market par excellence has experienced a strong boost in consumption in recent years. It has been calculated that the artisanal Panettone market alone is worth 107 million euros, a figure that rises to 217 million euros if industrially produced panettone is included. There are twelve million Italian families who choose panettone for the holidays and are increasingly attentive to quality, even if there are still those who buy a panettone for 3 or four euros thinking they've got a bargain. Hence, with the holidays approaching, a myriad of competitions that cross the length and breadth of the boot signaling from time to time the best Panettone in Italy. Everyone, it is understandable, wants their place in the sun …
The thing that immediately catches the eye is that the various juries are not exactly univocal in their judgments, it seems difficult to get everyone to agree on the best panettone in Italy, as is the case for comments on football matches. What to do then? A targeted purchase choice should first look at the authority of the judges and then at the packaging of the Panettone, especially since the artisan ones range on average from thirty euros up to 60 euros, then the history of pastry shops or bakers should also be considered to have a guarantee quality in the choice of components. There is something to think about.
Let's now take a bird's eye view of the various gastronomic competitions that have taken place from October until today, decreeing the excellence of the best Italian panettone.
Panettone Da, an authoritative competition held in Milan (in the jury chaired by Bigino Massari number one in the Italian pastry shop and made up, among others, of Al De Riso and Davide Comaschi, winner of the 2018 edition of panettone Da) examined 508 panettone rigorously crafts made by 240 pastry chefs and crowned as the winner of the 2019 edition Francesco Bertolini of the Casa del dolce of San Bonifacio (Verona) which First&Food spoke about in recent days. The prize for the best creative panettone went to Matteo Frigeni of the Capriccio pastry shop in Presezzo (Bergamo) for the Cinnamon apple strudel panettone, while the first prize for the best chocolate panettone went to the Fratelli Napoleone pastry shop in Rieti with the Flamingo panettone .
Another authoritative competition that of Gambero Rosso which examined 37 panettone considered among the best Italians with a blind tasting. The best panettone 2019 was that of the Dolcemascolo pastry shop in Frosinone. In second position was the panettone from Opera Waiting of Poggibonsi in the province of Siena. Third place ex aequo went to the Kiosk of Lonigo in the province of Vicenza and the Pasticceria Calciano di Tricarico in the province of Matera.
We go down to Puglia for the Mastro Panettone competition organized by Goloasi.it in Bari which awarded Andrea Barile from Pasticceria Terzo Millennio in Foggia (Fg) with the award of the best panettone in Italy, assigning second place to Francesco Borioli from Pasticceria Infermentum in Stallavena in the province of Verona and third place to a woman, a sign that things are moving up in this sector as well – whatever the good Vissani says – Valentina De Luca of Pasticceria L'Oca Golosa in Gorizia.
We then move on to the tender called by Vinodabere. In this case we find the one from the Roberto di Erbusco pastry shop in the province of Brescia as the best panettone in Italy. In second position is the Pasquale Marigliano pastry shop in Nola. Finally, a bronze medal for Gino Fabbri pastry chef in Bologna.
We return to Milan for the competition organized by King Panettone now in its 12th edition which awarded the one made by the Mascolo pastry shop in Visciano, in the province of Naples, as the best classic panettone in Italy, assigning the second prize to the Angelo Grippa pastry shop in Eboli in province of Salerno and the third to the Posillipo Dolce Officina pastry shop, which despite the name is from Gabicce a mare in the province of Pesaro and Urbuino, while for the section dedicated to creative panettone, Parco La Serra di Castellana Grotte in the province of Bari.
We remain in the South for the competition organized in Palermo under the title of "Panettone Without Borders", in this case the Jury presided over by the great Igino Massari awarded the best traditional panettone to the one made by the Rocco Scutellà pastry shop in Delianuova in the province of Reggio Calabria. Second place went to the Mauro lo Faso pastry shop in Bolognetta in the province of Palermo, third prize to Santi Palazzolo in Cinisi in the province of Palermo.
Then there is the FIPGC competition for the best panettone in the world organized by the International Federation of pastry, ice cream and chocolate which saw the triumph over 165 competitors even from Spain, Japan, China, USA, Serbia, Bolivia and Peru of made panettone in Italy with the gold medal for the classic panettone category assigned to Gianluca Cecere of the Baiano di Merano pastry shop in Naples and Bruno Andreoletti from Brescia
We return to the North for the "A mole of Panettoni" competition held in Turin. Out of 46 master pastry chefs from all over the world, the trophy for the Best Panettone in Italy went to the traditional Piedmontese panettone section at the Farina Club & Bakery pastry shop in Turin, while the one for the traditional Milanese panettone went to the Pasticceria La Gioia in Taranto. And, again, the one for the creative panettone went to the Fornai Ricci of Montaquila in the province of Isernia.
And in Milan the "artisti del panettone" competition was also held, which was the prerogative of Sal De Riso, the pastry chef from Minori who became a real TV star in programs dedicated to pastry.
De Riso was into first place by beating by a length Vincent Santoro of Martesana pastry shop in Milan behind which it is placed Carmen Vecchione of pastry Dolcearte of Avellino.
We could still go on for a long time. But as you can see in Italy there is no absolute Panettone. Perhaps a sign of the high quality achieved by our pastry chefs who were trained in different schools. And then Todos Caballeros, as he said Charles V during a visit to Alghero which took place between 7 and 8 October 1541? In the uncertainty of such disparate judgments expressed by the juries of the various competitions, all that remains is to experience it on your own.
