The “royal family” of Italian pastry making – Iginio and his daughter Debora Massari – and Joe Bastianich: they are the illustrious guests who, this evening, will celebrate the three hundredth episode of MasterChef together with the three judges of the program and the contestants. For amateur chefs, it is one of the most feared moments: if the master of pastry chefs has always been the most awaited guest by the public, the competitors are well aware of his proverbial rigour, and they know that, with Iginio Massari (a law in his name) among judges, the bar is inexorably raised. His daughter Debora, however, with a post on Instagram, assures that he is “much more indulgent” than his father.

Who is Debora Massari

Born in 1975, mother of two children, Debora Massari is one pastry chef specialized in leavened products. After her scientific high school diploma and her degree in Food Science and Technology (her experimental thesis focused precisely on leavened products), in 2019 she became master pastry chef entering the prestigious Academy of Italian pastry chefs. The following year he began working in the family business, bringing innovations and far-sighted and courageous ideas. It is to her that we owe the development of the Iginio Massari brand and the e-commerce launch. Today he is a member of the board of directors of Iginio Massari Srl and teaches at 24Ore Business School. In July 2022, Forbes he inserted it into the annual ranking of the 100 most successful women in Italy.

On Instagram, Debora Massari has almost 500 thousand followers. Through her social networks, she talks about herself, her great passion for dance, her family and friends, publishes appetizing images of her creations and conveys her (very precise) idea of ​​modern pastry making: «Dessert is transgression: it’s true . The important thing is that it is a sin of gluttony and not for the gluttony. Our studies are aimed at increasingly lighter and more beautiful desserts. Dessert can be the end of a meal, and therefore the last memory, or an isolated moment and therefore the choice of a fleeting lust.” For the Massari family, «a dessert is a symbol, it is a form and it is a content: very geometric and increasingly clean lines, exaltation of aromas, explosion of flavors, transcendence of aromatic tastes. This is what we strive to seek, never forgetting that we create for others.” Always at her father’s side, she participates with him in exhibitions, conferences and television broadcasts.

A sporty woman, in great shape, she has also taken a stand against those who have it criticized for thinness: «It is a topic on which people seem to feel the right to express themselves even more than on an overweight body, forgetting the good lessons given by Body Positivity. Does being thin necessarily mean having health problems or even suffering from eating disorders? My physique is the result of genetics and hard work in the gym. Thus, the freedom to like oneself again is lost without having to account to others for one’s appearance and face much more serious accusations, linked to eating disorders and the need for treatment.”