The pastry chef to the stars Iginio Massari, who forgot the cake on his wedding day

At 82 years old, Iginio Massari He has so many memories to recallsome of which are simply unforgettable. Among the most famous Italian pastry chefsthe founder of the historic Veneto pastry shop in Brescia, he told himself in an interview given to The Corriere della Sera.

Among the life anecdotes told to the newspaper, there is also one concerning the cake prepared for his wedding to Maria Damiani, known as Marì. This all happened over 50 years ago. «Well, this is the problem. There was no wedding cake because I forgot about it.”commented Iginio Massari. «Do you know the story of the shoemaker who always walks around with broken shoes? It went like this: we were not rich, but young and in love. I had been working for a while, we had many dreams. Maybe too many: at the reception we organized at Mary’s house, after the ceremony, I forgot about the cake. Luckily some friends had thought of bringing a millefeuille.” Among the other memories recalled, the period after the war, when he emigrated to Switzerland with his parents. «Life as a migrant was difficult. But I was 14 years old, I started working with a brilliant pastry chef in the Bernese Jura. I divided my time between wrestling and cream pastries».

Covered with awards and recognitions for his sweet creations, Iginio Massari over time it has conquered the palates of many well-known personalities. Here are some: «Francesco Cossiga every week he sent an honorable man from Brescia to take his favorite dessertGrandma Rachele’s cake.” And then Rita Levi Montalcini, who turned to him for her 100th birthday cake. «A fruit meringue, his favorite. He always came to eat at my place. Do you know that during one season we hosted thirteen Nobel Prize winners?”

Iginio Massari also took care of the cake for Marina Berlusconi’s wedding. «Everything went well here too until, on the eve of the wedding, I received a phone call. “Master”, they told me, “they want you in Arcore, you have to write the names of the bride and groom in icing”. But can’t their chef do it? I objected. Nothing to do, they wanted me. They sent for me, I went there just for that».

Coming to the present time, Iginio Massari lacks “almost nothing”. The pastry chef to the stars has a lot of commitments. «I write a lot, I do what I like, the team is perfect. I have three grandchildren, I enjoy writing poems and stories to keep them entertained.” A life fully lived, in short.