A PASTRY chef widely regarded as the inventor of tiramisu has died aged 81.
Roberto “Loli” Linguanotto passed away yesterday after a long illness.
His name is indelibly connected with the decadent coffee-flavoured dessert tiramisu that emerged in the 1980s.
Linguanotto was a pastry chef at the renowned restaurant Le Beccherie in Treviso, Italy, when he allegedly invented it.
The coffee-flavoured pudding has a number of origin stories.
By one account, Linguanotto accidentally dropped mascarpone in a bowl of sugar and eggs.
Later, he and co-inventor Alba di Pillo-Campeol – wife of Le Beccherie owner Ado Campeol – added ladyfingers soaked in espresso.
Journalist Gigi Padovani, who became Linguanotto’s close friend, co-authored the book “Tiramisù” with his wife Clara.
He recalled: “In no time, that dessert became a staple at Le Beccherie.
“It was served on a round tray with ladyfingers soaked in coffee, and two layers of cream and mascarpone.
“A few years later, in 1983, the tiramisu recipe was published in a Treviso gastronomic magazine for the first time.
“Le Beccherie then took it to Venice and later spread it around the world.
“From the 1990s onwards, the dessert became famous everywhere.”
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