This text is part of the special book Plaisirs
For many of us, cooks included, baking goes beyond craftsmanship. It is an art in its own right that requires precision, technique, patience and intuition. We admire those who make it their vocation, while being aware that their creations have something inaccessible. Until an amateur like us, passionate about desserts, reminds us that baking is quite simply synonymous with pleasure. Meeting with Dario Bivona, the winner of the very first edition of the show The best pastry chef in Quebec.
It is impossible not to fall in love with Dario Bivona. This 41-year-old man with a melodious, talkative accent and a radiant smile even in his voice is anything but boring. Those who have followed his adventures during the television competition The best pastry chef in Quebecan adaptation of the planetary success bake-off which opposed 10 amateur pastry chefs from the province, learned that he came from Italy (he arrived in Quebec in 2006), that he loved to cook and entertain, and that he baked as he led his life, at the intuition.
“I have a slightly unusual career path,” admits the man who went from biochemistry to pharmacy, before throwing himself head first into communication, then into an amateur pastry competition. But this inveterate gourmand has never stopped cooking or baking. He tells us about his childhood spent in the kitchens of his grandmother, his mother and his aunt, with whom he learned to make fresh pasta, focaccia, risottos, side dishes, rustic Italian cakes and pies. While his father, “the family chemist”, had fun making alcoholic liqueurs.
Participate in the “Best pastry chef in Quebec”
You can enjoy baking, without risking a competition. ” I did not think ! When I saw a call for applications, I immediately sent lots of photos of pastries that I accumulate on my cell phone, and I was the first to call cast “, admits this finished fan of the show bake-off, of which he looked at all the possible variations.
This experience with nine other dessert enthusiasts will remain etched in his memory. ” It was magical. We always talked about baking together, even at the hotel. People must have thought us crazy! But it was so nourishing, because we have different strengths and visions. We also benefited from valuable advice from the team and our judges. And we had to train more at home, stopwatch in hand. What an adventure ! »
Step by step, Dario’s pastry signature asserted itself, until he won the final with a pudding chômeur revisited with espresso and sambuca, the two ingredients of the traditional caffè corretto.
“My pastries are a happy mix of memories and combinations of flavors,” he says. For example, in the semi-finals of the show, I married a Saint-Honoré recipe with brandy, figs and bay leaf, remembering the married figs (dried figs stuffed with an almond) that my grandmother was potting for the winter with bay leaves from the garden. »
A first book
By becoming the best amateur pastry chef in Quebec, Dario Bivona was able to produce a recipe book, Dario’s desserts. Another unprecedented experience that led him, in the space of three weeks, to standardize, bake and have 50 desserts photographed. “I will never look at these books the same way again, now that I know how much work there is behind! he admits.
This does not prevent him from conveying an important message through this book. “This is a book that was written by an amateur, for amateurs. I have no training in pastry. I learned everything on my own, and practiced for years. So you can make these recipes your own and adapt them at your own pace. The author has structured his book in the form of a crescendo, with basic techniques and simple recipes at the beginning, and more elaborate cakes at the end.
Dario also invites us to play with simplicity in dressage. “I’m a fan of rustic desserts, with simple presentations made with natural ingredients. You don’t need 110 things for a dessert to be pretty. Fresh or candied fruit, a dash of coulis, a little icing sugar as for my pizzicotti with limoncello (recipe in this book), this is enough to make an appetizing dessert. And if you enjoy baking, others will feel it while enjoying your dessert. So don’t be afraid to get started! »
Dario Bivona’s desserts
Dario Bivona, Les Éditions de l’Homme, Montreal, 2023, 144 pages
This content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, pertaining to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.