Who’s Biasetto?

Today we get to know master pastry chef Luigi Biasetto a bit better. Biasetto pastry shop in Padova is one of the best pastry shops in Italy, and its multi-awarded creations are renown all over the world. I was very excited to interview the Maestro and happy to discover that besides his incredible skills, Luigi Biasetto is also very nice in person.

Chiara: Why gluten free?

Luigi Biasetto: There are more and more people today that are celiac or sensitive to gluten. We want to make everybody happy. To me going to a pastry shop is about being happy. It is like going out to a party and spent a very pleasurable moment. At Biasetto we have always been attentive to other people needs and we have over 30 products that are gluten free: from the Setteveli to the Sole Mio or Violetta cakes, from the macarons to the chocolate pralines and fruit jams. Today we are working at a gluten free steamed pizza that will present to an event we are attending in Lyon, at end of September.

Chiara: What is Biasetto?

Luigi Biasetto: It is pastry shop where we start by selecting the best quality ingredients to make our pastries: from the pistachio from Bronte, in Sicily, that has such a better taste than those coming from other places to the hazelnuts from Asti, in Piemonte. Our almonds have 69% of essential oils that make them full of precious nutrients. We know our suppliers, we know where each ingredient comes from, we know its story and this is precious and very important to us. When you use fantastic ingredients like we do, it is true that they are a bit pricier, but the result is a product that tastes great and is also good for your health.

People in general have erroneous ideas about pastry: when I look at what we do, I see that our products beautifully fit in the food pyramid that we are taught at schools – my 11 years old daughter eats my pastries and she is not fatter or thinner than any other child her age. A cake or a tart can be healthy when the ingredients are healthy.

That said I think that eating a pastry has to be like an apotheosis – that happens to me when I eat a slice of Panettone for example. If I eat a cake and it makes me feel sad, then I know I have to change it. I always look at the road ahead, to what there is still to be done and how to improve what I am doing.

I think that each human being experiences four moments during the day: intimate, private, social and professional. Private is when you are with your family, social when you share with friends, professional when you work and intimate is when you are with yourself. To me the intimate moment of my day corresponds to going to my atelier and there, I let myself go, without inhibitions I would say, I just let it go as nobody were looking at me.

Chiara: What is the gluten free food that you loved the most?

Luigi Biasetto: A gluten free pizza made of black rice by Michelin starred chef Massimiliano Alajmo at Le Calandre restaurant.

Chiara: Gluten free is…

Luigi Biasetto:  It’s about love, generosity, altruism, inspiration.

Chiara: What is your challenge?

Luigi Biasetto: Make vegan people happy as well. We have recently made a vegan version of the traditional Sbrisolona cake and we are working on new products. For example we are starting to use new ingredients like the rice oil and we are testing it in our pastries. It is a bit expensive but it is rich in precious nutrients. When you eat it in a fresh tart, it is just delicious.

To read my older post on Biasetto:

http://bacididamaglutenfree.com/en/portfolio/biasetto/