Paolo and Andrea Sacchetti from the Nuovo Mondo pastry shop in Prato – © FB Nuovo Mondo
Tuscany is the protagonist of the new Gambero Rosso guide “Pastry chefs and pastry shops of Italy 2024“. I am the New World of Paolo and Andrea Sacchetti who has the highest score with 92 points and Luca Mannori father of the famous “Setteveli” with 90 points: the two first-rate activities that shine with Three stars in the 13th edition of the publication.
Then one is added Pastry Chef category: Sara Mazzoli of the restaurant The little Prince of the Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte Viareggio. The 2024 guide consists of 31 activities that they can boast of Three Cakes and 5 Special Prizesthey are well 650 signs included in the 2024 edition, of which well 60 new features. The figure of stands out above all Iginio Massari, undisputed master of the dessert who deserves the Three Golden Cakes. Moreover in Florence is present with a pastry shop which bears his name.
Iginio Massari – © @IginioMassari
All the Gambero Rosso cakes
I am in Tuscany 36 pastry shops surveyed from the Guide, well 17 in the capital, in Florence. They are present in the guide: Millevoglie (2 Cakes, Albinia), Lorenzo pastry shop and coffee (2 Cakes, Camaiore), Everything OK (2 Cakes, Campi Bisenzio), Golden basin (1 Cake, Campiglia Marittima), Pastry shop (2 Cakes, Florence), Buonamici pastry shop (1 Cake, Florence), Courteous café Novecento (2 Cakes, Florence), Pasticceria Cosi (2 Cakes, Florence), Marco’s desserts (1 Cake, Florence), Sweets and sweets (2 Cakes, Florence), Sweet thoughts (1 Cake, Florence), Giorgio pastry shop (1 Cake, Florence), Gualtieri (2 Cakes, Florence), Lietta coffee (1 Cake, Florence), Massimo’s desserts (1 Cake, Florence), Rainer Coffee (1 Cake, Florence), Voire again (1 Cake, Florence), Stefania pastry shop (2 Cakes, Florence), Mariani pastry shop (1 Cake, Forte dei Marmi), Christians (1 Cake, Livorno), Atelier Damiano Carrara (2 Cakes, Lucca), Sandra (2 Cakes, Lucca), Giovannini (1 Cake, Montecatini Terme), The dome (2 Cakes, Pietrasanta), Cioccorocolato (1 Cake, Pisa), Guastini pastry shop (2 Cakes, Prato), Tantaroba by Faccendi (2 Cakes, Quarrata), Cowhide (1 cake, Santa Croce sull’Arno), Which (2 Cakes, Scandicci), Corsini (1 Cake, Siena), Sins of Gluttony (2 Cakes, Siena), Barbera pastry shop (2 Cakes, Signa), Longlegs (1 Cake, Viareggio), Patalani (2 Cakes, Viareggio).
To find the best, however, you have to move to Prato which hosts two great excellences to the point of deserving full marks Three Cakes.
Paolo and Andrea Sacchetti from the Nuovo Mondo pastry shop in Prato – © FB Nuovo Mondo
The New World by Paolo and Andrea Sacchetti
New world Of Paolo and Andrea Sacchetti records the highest score in Tuscany. The place, active since 1989 “is always looking for new inspirations and reinterpretations of Italian pastry classics -this is underlined by Gambero Rosso-. Rightly proud of the alveolation of their croissants and croissants, they churn out ones for all tastes: classic, wholemeal, pistachio, berry. The classic desserts are impeccable (biscuits from Prato, Foresta Nera, tiramisu and an infinite variety of mignons) and the original creations are unmissable, from Alì Babà (babà with a pineapple heart and lime ganache) to Nettare d’Estate – a revisitation of the Santarosa -, ring of puff pastry topped with semolina and honey chips which encloses a ricotta mousse and a lavender apricot heart. Among the excellent festive leavened products, the Pan Ballotto is worth trying, with cubes of chestnuts marinated in Alchermes, marron glacé and candied apricots”.
To accompany the recognition of Three Cakesalso other prizes awarded by Red shrimp for the New World Pastry Shop: Three Cups for the bar and Two Beans for coffee.
Luca Mannori
Luca Mannori, Setteveli’s father
There are few pastry chefs in Italy who can associate their name with Sette Veli Cake: their names can be counted on the fingers of one hand. AND Luca Mannori is one of them: “one of the great names of national sweet art who combines one of his great passions, music -they underline to Gambero Rosso-. His restaurant is large and elegant, the offer excellent. In the repertoire of cakes, Setteveli is a “must have”, but there are so many options, such as the hazelnut and orange cake or Rio (Tuscan spices, Mediterranean scrub honey, hazelnuts, almonds, figs and orange). Specialties include American and cake design cakes. The chocolate production is also very meticulous, preferring monovarietal chocolate, and pure chocolate, which contains only cocoa mass, cocoa butter, sugar and soy lecithin. The great leavened products are unmissable, including a delicious gastronomic panettone.”
Sara Mazzoli, pastry chef of the Il piccolo prince restaurant in Viareggio
Sara Mazzoli at the top for pastry chefs
In the category Pastry Chef: among the 16 best pastry chefs capable of transforming a restaurant meal into an authentic unforgettable experience is in fact Sara Mazzoli of the Il Piccolo Principe restaurant of the Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte Viareggio.
“Her great passion for desserts led her first to Dublin, where she collaborated with chefs from different cultures, got to know new styles of international cuisine, and especially approached Malaysian and Spanish pastry making. -they explain to Gambero Rosso-. She then continued her experiences abroad, including London, to finally arrive at the Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte in 2019. One of the desserts she is particularly attached to is Sticky Rice, taught to her in Dublin, a sort of rice pudding made with milk of coconut, lemongrass and ginger, a great challenge, as not having a precise recipe he had to rely on his taste and perception of flavors to find the perfect combination of ingredients”.
The success of the pastry shop beyond social media
“Today, being social is not enough: the shapes, colors, aesthetics, design must go hand in hand with the concreteness and solidity of the proposal. It is the technique, the quality of the raw materials, the ability to intelligently mix the ingredients, the increasingly careful dosage of sugars and fats that make a good pastry chef. And, in Italy, we have many excellences: the list of the right addresses grows from year to year!” he assures Laura Mantovanoeditorial director of the Guide.
