It is an act of love towards the Neapolitan patron saint par excellence, the one best known even outside of Naples, San Gennaro. But it is also a sort of compensation for having neglected to dedicate a dessert to him for 1700 years. In fact, it is only since 2016 that the Campania capital has been hosting “San Gennà, a dessert for San Gennaro” by Mulino Caputo, the pastry contest that decrees, every year, the best unpublished creation dedicated to the Saint.
Thus, on Monday 11 September, Palazzo Petrucci in Posillipo will host nine pastry chefs and master pastry chefs, who will compete to create the best dessert inspired by the figure of this martyr of the Church who has been part of the identity of a city for centuries. “Saint Gennà”, now in its sixth edition, has become a key event in September, the month dedicated to devotion to the saint, “an event we care a lot about - Explains Antimus Caputo, CEO of the company – It is not only an opportunity to further expand the range of Neapolitan sweets with high-quality proposals, but it is also an important moment of comparison between master pastry chefs and an opportunity to stimulate the creativity of the youngest”.
The judges of the sixth edition of the competition are well-known names and faces in the sector: Luigi Biasetto, Relais Dessert and world champion of pastry making; Sal De Riso, award-winning pastry chef and president of Ampi; the two-starred chef of La Torre del Saracino, Gennaro Esposito; the veteran pastry chef from Campania Sabatino Sirica and Antimo Caputo.
The proposals, by regulation, must be single-portion desserts made with one of the Caputo flours; an ingredient chosen from the Agrimontana references; a red element (inspired by the miracle of the Saint's blood) and/or a yellow ingredient (in reference to the nickname "yellow face", with which one addresses the Saint to request the miracle.
The pastry chefs who will compete in the panoramic room of the Palazzo Petrucci restaurant are Guglielmo Cavezza, from the Pasticceria Mommy Cafè in Cicciano; Raffaele Cristiano, from the eponymous Pasticceria Artigianale in Naples; Giuseppe Cristoforo, from the Dolce Voglia pastry shop in Frattaminore; Antonio Della Monica, from the La Casa Rosa restaurant in Castello di Postignano, nestled in a medieval village in Valnerina, Umbria; Ferdinando De Simone, from the starred Lorelei restaurant in Sorrento; Giorgio Maiorano, from La Forneria in Naples; Biagio Martinelli, from the Dolce&Salato cooking and pastry school in Maddaloni; Chiara Naclerio, pastry chef at the fine dining restaurant La Corte degli Dei in Agerola and Maria Varone, demi Chef at the Hilton Sorrento Palace.
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