He was 54 and had long been struggling with the disease. His artisan panettone has been repeatedly recognized among the best in Italy
He had worked until Christmas to prepare those excellent panettone that had made him famous throughout Italy. The teacher Alfonso Pepe, the king of patisserie, died at 54, after an illness he fought for two. It was from Sant’Egidio del Monte Albino, in the province of Salerno, and there he had opened his laboratory.
His passion began in the eighties, when he started training in the most important Italian pastry shops and followed prestigious courses, such as Etoile Academy and Cast Alimenti (founded by Iginio Massari) and Ecol, in France. From 1995 he had become a member of the Accademia Maestri Pasticcieri Italiani, and his artisan panettone has been repeatedly recognized among the best in Italy. He was in love with the sourdough, who defined "an extraordinary element, which allows great things".
Last May he also deserved the World Pastry Stars, the highest worldwide recognition in the sector. Together with Sal De Riso, he made an epoch-making change to Southern patisserie. He deserves credit for it the panettone is seasonally adjusted and innovated of the South. «We pastry chefs can call ourselves ambassadors of taste and flavors traditions of our territory: this is the only way we can create real added value that cascades to create positive effects along the entire production chain ", he said.
"This is what I thought when, on one of the most fascinating and rich in history volcanoes, Vesuvius, I wondered how to use the most characteristic of the 100 indigenous varieties of Vesuvian apricots grown within the Vesuvius National Park in my creations: , the so-called Pellecchiella variety, known for its incredible sweetness. Or when going to Agropoli, in Cilento, I discovered a fig plantation located on the end of a hill, where you can breathe a pleasant sea breeze. And, again, when going around with my Fiat 500 around the historic center of Sant'Egidio, I discovered that just behind the thousand-year-old Abbey, at the foot of the Lattari Mountains, there was a garden full of tangerines, oranges and spectacular lemons .
Among the many awards that Pepe had collected, we remember the 1st place as Best Panettone in Italy for Gazza Golosa (2016), 1st place at Il Re Panettone in Naples (2015), 1st place at Una mole di panettoni, Turin (2015), the Slow Food Medal for the best artisan panettone and selection in the best 10 Panettoni and handmade Pandori of Italy for the Gambero Rosso.
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