Roberto “Loli” Linguanotto, the Italian pastry chef believed to have invented the iconic tiramisu dessert, died Sunday at age 81.
Known as the “father of tiramisu,” Linguanotto passed away in Italy after a long battle with an unspecified illness.
The famous pastry chef created this culinary classic in the early 1970s while working at Alle Beccherie, a renowned restaurant in Treviso, northern Italy.
This sweet has several origin stories, including one that says Linguanotto accidentally dropped mascarpone into a bowl of sugar and eggs.
According to locals, Linguanotto perfected the recipe for the coffee-flavored dessert with the help of Alba di Pillo-Campeol, the wife of Alle Beccherie owner Ado Campeol.
Roberto Linguanotto, nicknamed the “father of tiramisu”, has died in Italy after a long battle with an unspecified illness
The famous pastry chef created this culinary classic in the early 1970s while working at Alle Beccherie, a famous restaurant in Treviso, northern Italy. Pictured: Roberto “Loli” Linguanotto in the 1980s (right)
He then allegedly added espresso-soaked ladyfingers to the dessert.
Made with just six ingredients (eggs, savoiardi, sugar, mascarpone, coffee and cocoa), the dessert was originally named ‘Tirame Sù’, a name that translates as ‘cheer me up’.
The journalist Gigi Padovani, who became a close friend of Linguanotto, wrote the book ‘Tiramisù’ together 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 sponge fingers soaked in coffee and two layers of cream and mascarpone.
‘A few years later, in 1983, the tiramisu recipe was published for the first time in a gastronomic magazine in Treviso.
Le Beccherie then took it to Venice and then spread it throughout the world.
‘From the 1990s onwards, the dessert became famous everywhere.’
Linguanotto was said to be popular among his colleagues despite being shy and reserved.
He spent several years working abroad before returning home to his native Veneto.
One story about the origin of tiramisu claims that Linguanotto accidentally dropped mascarpone into a bowl of sugar and eggs.
Linguanotto is said to have been very popular among his colleagues despite being shy and reserved.
Paying tribute to Linguanotto, the Governor of the Veneto Region, Luca Zaia, said: ‘I join in mourning the passing of Roberto Linguanotto, who had a significant impact on the world of pastry.
‘Tiramisu is today a culinary excellence recognised throughout the world and the merit of such success is also due to (Linguanotto’s) mastery as a pastry chef and his desire to make our Venetian delicacy unique and inimitable, making tiramisu stand out among national and international desserts.’
He also paid tribute to the late chef Francesco Redi, organizer of the Tiramisu World Cup.
He said: ‘We remember him fondly and with that sweetness that always distinguished his way of being.
‘He and his family have supported us from the beginning and we are grateful to him because without his invention this global movement of tiramisu lovers would not exist.’
Other claims of the invention of the dessert come from a madam of a brothel in Treviso in the 19th century and even from Siena in the 17th century in honour of the Grand Duke.