€30,000 for Emergency and new appointments: the Master Pastry Chefs' Symposium in Milan
For the 30th Ampi-Accademia Maestro Pasticceri Italiane Symposium, held in Milan on October 4th and 5th, the association led by Sal De Riso brought 16 regional desserts to the heart of the city.
A long tasting event that saw tiramisu, Sicilian cannoli, panettone, maritozzo, Leccese pasticciotto, bonet, baba, and other traditional regional desserts paraded just steps from the Duomo. The day's proceeds were donated to Emergency, which supports pediatric projects. It was a success, raising €30,000. The check was presented during the "Homage to Lombardy" gala dinner hosted by Claudio Sadler in the Hall of Columns of the Museum of Science and Technology.
A large and strong association
"We are a large and strong association," President De Riso declared at the opening of the evening. "And we achieved this result together. This Ampi continues to grow. Today we welcome five new instructors, but we already have requests for ten senior professionals. The business world, our driving force, also looks to us with ever-increasing interest."
The new academics are Valerio Barralis (Valerio Barralis Pastry Academy, Magenta-Milan), Pietro Ditrizio (Ditrizio Pastry Shop, Cagliari), Fabio Nazzari (Fabio Nazzari Patisserie Chocolaterie, Iseo-Bs), Fabio Ravone (Dolci Tentazioni, Brindisi), Simone Saggia (Bislakko Cioccoristoreria, Vercelli).
Grand gala and award ceremony
The AMPI gala also included the presentation of three awards. The Belcolade Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Francesca Caon (Caon Chocolate, Racconigi-Cuneo). The Pavoni Trophy had three categories: Boutique Pastry Chef, Pastry Chef, and Pastry Chef Under 30. The winners, in order, were Gianluca Fusto (Fusto Milano), Marco Pinna (Mandarin Oriental, Milan), and Filippo Valsecchi (ArteSapori Pasticceria, Oggiono-Lucca). The Novacert Historic Signs Award, in its first edition, celebrated businesses over a century old. Honors were given to Pasticceria Besuschio (Abbiategrasso-Milan), Caffè Gilli (Florence), and Pasticceria Palazzolo (Cinisi-Palermo).
Sadler's "Homage to Lombardy" dinner
"Homage to Lombardy" was the theme developed by Claudio Sadler for the gastronomic evening. It was a grand tribute, starting with the finger food at the aperitif, such as Mondeghili with truffle mayonnaise, brioche michette with Milanese salami, potato salad, and gherkins, or Salva cheese fritters with honey mustard. At the table, stewed artichoke salad with nervetti ham, persimmon, almond vinaigrette, and Lodi raspadura cheese, and yellow Milanese risotto with ossobuco morsels were served. The grand finale in the cloister was a dessert buffet prepared by the Ampi master chefs of the Lombardia group.
The 2026 Pastry Summit, "Driving Change: Methods, Markets, and New Challenges in Fine Pastry," brought together over 200 professionals across 14 thematic panels. Topics included free form and rich in, generational transition, corporate welfare, and process industrialization. Noteworthy was the debut of the Ampi Giovan i Group's permanent panel. The future is already here.
