Father of Tiramisu, Pastry Chef Roberto Linguanotto, Dies Aged 81

Roberto Linguanotto, who co-created the dessert Tiramisu, died after battling an unspecified illness aged 81. (Image: X/@NadiaRossetti24)

Roberto Linguanotto, the 'father of tiramisu', is said to have created the famous dessert accidentally with the wife of the owner of the restaurant he worked in.

Roberto ‘Loli’ Linguanotto, the Italian pastry chef who is dubbed the ‘father of tiramisu’, died on Sunday aged 81. Linguanotto is believed to have invented the iconic tiramisu dessert.

He passed away in Italy after battling an unspecified illness. A report by the Daily Mail said Linguanotto created the dessert in the early 1970s while working at Alle Beccherie, a famous restaurant in northern Italy’s Treviso.

The report said that locals claim he and Alba di Pillo-Campeol, the wife of Alle Beccherie owner Ado Campeol, perfected the coffee-flavoured dessert recipe almost by accident.

There are several origin stories but the most popular one is the one that says Linguanotto had accidentally dropped mascarpone into a bowl of sugar and eggs.

Alba di Pillo-Campeol, allegedly later added ladyfingers soaked in espresso to the dessert.

Tiramisu was originally called ‘Tirame Sù’, a name that translates to ‘pick me up’, and was made with just six ingredients – eggs, savoiardi, sugar, mascarpone, coffee and cocoa.

“In no time, that dessert became a staple at Le Beccherie. It was served on a round tray with ladyfingers soaked in coffee, and two layers of cream and mascarpone,” journalist Gigi Padovani, who developed a close friendship with Linguanotto, writes in his book ‘Tiramisù’ which he co-authored with is wife Clara.

“A few years later, in 1983, the tiramisu recipe was published in a Treviso gastronomic magazine for the first time. Le Beccherie then took it to Venice and later spread it around the world. From the 1990s onwards, the dessert became famous everywhere,” Gigi Padovani wrote.

“I join in mourning the passing of Roberto Linguanotto, who made a significant impact in the world of pastry. Tiramisù today is a culinary excellence recognised throughout the world and the credit for such a success also goes to Linguanotto’s mastery as a pastry chef and his desire to make our Venetian delicacy unique and inimitable, making tiramisù stand out among national and international desserts,” the governor of the Veneto region Luca Zaia said, according to the Daily Mail report.

There are other competing claims that exist. Some tie the dessert to a 19th-century Treviso brothel madam and even to the region of Siena in the 17th century in honour of Grand Duke.