A continuous Evolution

Ampi, the Academy of Italian pastry chefs, brings together pastry professionals who stand out in Italy for their high professionalism and outstanding artistic skills.
The activities of the Academy are guided by strict rules drawn up at the time of its constitution with the objective of promoting discussion and collaboration among the members
in view of continuous professional growth and improvement of production processes.
The current president is the master pastry chef Gino Fabbri. Every year two three-day seminars are organized, one of a technical nature reserved exclusively for members, the socalled Technical Symposium,
and the other open to all, the Public Symposium.
During the Technical Symposium, which is usually held in the classrooms of the Cast Alimenti school in Brescia, there are also tests for admitting new pastry chefs
to the select group.

The founder

Ampi was founded in 1993 by pastry chef Iginio Massari – who today holds the position of Honorary President – for the purpose of promoting and spreading
the image of high quality Italian pastry.
Throughout his career Iginio Massari has received numerous awards and gold medals, and in 2015 he was named honorary president of the Coupe du monde de la Pâtisserie, the first foreign president of a jury in France.
He is the creator and partner of the Cast Alimenti school specialized in foods located in Brescia, active since 1996.

Latest edition

Last February, the 2018 Technical Symposium took place, having reached its 26th edition.
As usual, the first phase of the meeting was focused on breakfast, when a group of pastry chefs must present their innovative and original products to their colleagues. This time the intent was to propose alternatives to the classic breakfast brioche.
The actual main topic of the symposium can focus on the creation of a specific specialty or, like this year, the analysis of sensorial assessments based on the study of new techniques, combinations or applications.
Here are some examples of studies proposed, to better understand the tenor of the commitment of the academy members in their search for innovation.
The evolution of sponge cake prepared with red turnip or with biga, which is a pre-leavened dough obtained by mixing water, flour and yeast that can then be added to other ingredients to form the actual dough; the Mont Blanc presented as a snack with a cream of Japanese chestnuts and candied yuzu between
two meringue wafers; almond paste, the properties of the tegument that covers it, the identification of its nutritional values, taste and aroma for small pastries; the evolution of the babà.
The pastry chefs voted on the best study presented, which turned out to be by the group of Maestro Maurizio Busi which focused on the use of apples in pastry, an ancient fruit that lends itself to varied and new interpretations.