How would you define in a few words the pastry chef Francesco Elmi? A pastry chef that has a passion for sweets and who is constantly searching for “quality things” with an intense love for traditional Italian leavened sweets, while attentively and constantly looking for innovation. What is your favourite dessert recipe? My favourite recipe is the one that I still need to try, because my passion for this profession brings me to experiment constantly. I experience professional satisfaction and emotional involvement most when I make recipes with mother yeast. Which was the most important professional intuition of your career? Twelve years ago, walking down via Castiglione in Bologna, seeing what looked like an unattractive business location close to the medieval entrance to the city, I thought about how I could transform it into the pastry shop of my dreams. And thus, Regina di Quadri was born, right in the heart of the city, the pastry shop that I still manage today and that continues to give me lots of satisfaction. A 360° look starting from his dedication in his pastry shop in Bologna, Regina di Quadri, and expanding to his work as a Brand Ambassador, instructor, academic. The most significant professional mistake of your career? It isn’t easy to identify your own errors, but probably mine was not having always focused all my energy into one direction. How is Italian pastry perceived today at an international level? I think that Italian pastry is perceived very well abroad: pastry arts with utmost quality and strong traditions. I believe that Italian pastry is the best in the world at the moment, even if often times abroad Italian sweets are mistreated. 17
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