June 5th will be PASTICCIOTTO DAY! The event dedicated to the symbol of the Salento confectionery tradition now recognized and appreciated throughout the world is back, a simple but unmistakable delicacy, with its crunchy shortcrust pastry and its delicious custard.
For the fifth consecutive year, a special day unites the country, from north to south, starting right “from the warm heart of Salento”, thanks to the network of pastry shops participating in the initiative, not only Italy, but also France, Brazil, Spain and Belgium, which at the same time, from opening at 6.00 pm, will offer their pasticciotto at the special price of 90 cents. This fifth edition also presents itself with EXPO PASTICCIOTTODAY, a real trade fair event with an open-air laboratory and tasting sessions in Piazza Mazzini in Lecce from 7pm to 11pm. Meanwhile, the “Pasticciotto Day photo contest” has already started for professional and non-professional photographers (registrations until May 26th, publication on social media and possibility of voting from May 27th to June 3rd and exhibition of the twenty best works decreed by the jury and the most voted one on social media on June 4th and 5th in Galleria Mazzini in Lecce).
PASTICCIOTTO DAY FROM 2020
Pasticciotto Day was born from an idea of Agrogepaciok – the international exhibition of ice cream, pastry, chocolate and agri-food craftsmanship, in collaboration with the Salento Pastry Chefs Association of Confartigianato Imprese Lecce, Fipe Confcommercio Imprese Lecce, Fiepet Confesercenti Lecce, Federalberghi, with the patronage of the Province of Lecce, Municipality of Lecce, Gal Terra d’Arneo, Gal Valle della Cupa, Gal Capo di Leuca, with the support of the Puglia Region and the Lecce Chamber of Commerce. It was established and celebrated for the first time in June 2020 with the aim of starting the resumption of activities in the area, symbolically putting an end to the critical phase of the sad story linked to the Covid 19 pandemic. Today it is now an institutionalized event as pasticciotto day and therefore wants to continue to be an opportunity to stimulate and promote the area from a confectionery and tourism point of view.
OPEN-AIR LABORATORY AND SOLIDARITY
Pasticciotto Day is now also a real trade fair event. On the evening of June 5th, from 7pm to 11pm, Lecce and specifically Piazza Mazzini will host EXPO PASTICCIOTTO DAY in collaboration with the Master Pastry Chefs of Confartigianato Imprese Lecce. They will be the ones to transform the square into a large open-air pastry workshop with which they will delight the public with the live preparation of pasticciotti. Baked hot for the benefit of those present, they will be sold at the price of €1.50 per piece which will be entirely donated to the Umberto Veronesi Foundation, which has been committed for many years to financing excellent scientific research. In Piazza Mazzini, the commercial heart of Lecce, an exhibition and tasting itinerary of other typical Salento confectionery products will also be set up. An additional opportunity to discover the typical features that distinguish the Salento tradition.
“Given the large number of participants in the event, Pasticciotto Day is now a real widespread fair focused on the promotion of the territory through the confectionery peculiarities of which the king in the world is certainly this delicious heart of shortcrust pastry and cream – says the organizer , Carmine Notaro of the Events Agency. Our focus on June 5th is precisely on the issues related to the artisanal processing of raw materials, to their transformation, until obtaining the final product, with an open-air laboratory that enchants Salento residents and tourists who join us in Piazza Mazzini but also in participating pastry shops, whose master pastry chefs, on this special day, will be happy to answer questions from curious customers” continues Notaro. “In short, food and wine plays a fundamental role in the choice of tourist destinations for travelers who are increasingly demanding and increasingly attentive and interested in the traditions of the area they choose to visit. Today knowing a territory means discovering the traditions connected to it and, in this sense, culinary/gastronomic traditions certainly play a fundamental role and one of the main reference targets in relation to tourist choices, constituting an element of positive persuasion. Pasticciotto day – concludes Notaro – is an invitation to the Salento area, strong, clear and convincing”.
PASTICCIOTTO PHOTO CONTEST
After the success of the first edition, the “Pasticciotto photo contest” returns again this year. The undisputed protagonist will be the fragrant Salento dessert.
There were many participants in the last edition and this is why the second edition of the competition began on May 10th which will lead to the proclamation of the three most creative photos but also the one most voted on social media. The photos must have the pasticciotto as a “model” and can be taken in any place and in any way, giving free rein to one’s creativity and imagination as long as they are in line with the contest regulations and the participation methods. Competitors must FOLLOW the “Pasticciotto Day – Agrogepaciok” Instagram and Facebook page and send their shot by May 26th to [email protected].
From May 27th the photos in the competition will be published on IG and FB and you will be able to vote until 9.00 am on June 3rd (all votes after this date and time will not be considered valid). The one that receives the most likes by adding the FB and IG votes will win the SPECIAL SOCIAL PRIZE and will be exhibited in the photographic exhibition on 4 and 5 June at Galleria Mazzini in Lecce.
A jury of experts, composed of professional photographers Bruno Barillari, Silvio Bursomanno and Piero Maraca, will evaluate and determine the twenty photos that will be printed and exhibited in the aforementioned exhibition and which will compete for the first three places. The official regulations are published on the website https://www.agrogepaciok.it/pasticciotto-day-2024.
INFO AND MEMBERSHIP PASTICCIOTTO DAY 2024
The Pasticciotto Day initiative is aimed at all existing activities, both nationally and elsewhere, that produce/sell/offer pasticciotto to the final consumer. You can join by sending your application no later than May 31st to [email protected] using the form on the website https://www.agrogepaciok.it/pasticciotto-day-2024/.
The list of participating businesses which on Wednesday 5 June 2024 will respect the selling price of the traditional pasticciotto at €0.90 (until 6.00 pm) can be consulted on the website https://www.agrogepaciok.it/ pasticciotto-day-2024-insieme-attivita-aderenti/ on the Pasticciotto day social channels, where you can also find all the details of the initiative.
