We invite you to the pastry SpeakEasy presentation by Italy’s most famous VALRHONA ambassador, GIANLUCA FUSTO from Milan, also known as FUSTO Milano.

Place: Hotel PACAI, salė NU JAZZ
Didžioji g. 7 – LT-01128 Vilnius

Time: 30.05.2024 9.00.
Duration: 4 hours.

Inform your sales representative about your participation.

Gianluca Fusto

Gianluca Fusto resembles his pasticceria: always evolving, in a universe where the ingredient is at the center of everything.
From a very young age he embarked on a journey into the infinite mazes of taste that led him to become a real reference in the world of modern international pastry: a contemporary alchemist who plays with ingredients, textures and temperatures to give unique sensations to the palate, always in the name of aesthetic and structural minimalism.

After graduating from Carlo Porta Hotel Institute in Milan, Gianluca leaves for London, where he works at Harry’s Bar with chef Alberigo Penati, before arriving in Paris, at the Hôtel de Castille, where, under the guidance of Alain Ducasse, he discovers that he has a particular predisposition for pastry.

Back in Milan, he works at La Scaletta by Pina Bellini and at the Bistrot by Gualtiero Marchesi. However, it is in Aimo Moroni, at the two-Michelin-starred Luogo di Aimo e Nadia, that he finds a professional and intellectual father. Alongside him and Nadia, Gianluca assimilates full respect for the ingredient and the importance of technique as a means to enhance it.

“I start from the product to choose the technique, and not vice versa. I am interested in the language of raw materials; creativity for me is what I have inside, but also knowing how to combine and respect the ingredient”.

His research continues thanks to other important experiences around the world in the discovery of original and originary flavours, colors and sensations that can be translated into his Pasticceria d’Autore, which he defines as “PASTICCERIA ARTIGIANA CONTEMPORANEA / Contemporary Artisan Pastry“.

Among the various experiences, it is worth mentioning the one in the United States with Piero Selvaggio Group, at both Valentino restaurant in Santa Monica and the iconic Venetian Resort Hotel in Las Vegas; and again in Milano, the collaboration with chef Carlo Cracco.

“The raw material is the seed that sprouts on the plate. I need to combine, play, have fun, give an emotion with what I learned along the way “.

At the age of 28, Gianluca enters the professional training of the prestigious Valrhona École du Grand Chocolat in Tain-l’Hermitage, a small French village near Lyon, as the first Italian pastry chef of the teaching staff. Working with chemists, physicists and food engineers allows him to fully understand the world of chocolate, consolidating his rigorous and scientific approach to the raw material.

Fully entered into the universe of modern international Pastry, Gianluca cooperates with the best pastry chefs such as Pierre Hermé, Frédéric Bau, Yann Duytsche, Paco Torreblanca, Patrick Roger, Christophe Michalak, Christophe Adam and Enric Rovira, just to mention a few, and continues to travel: from the Middle East to China, from the United States to Japan; the fil rouge of every journey is the constant exercise to keep his mental encyclopedia of ingredients updated.

Having outlined his research philosophy, in 2008 the Maestro founds his first company: Gianluca Fusto Consulting, a structure for consultancy, analysis, advanced training and courses aimed at all food sectors. Among the best known customers, the Lebanese brand Patchi for chocolate; Jumeirah Hotels, Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur and the Forte Village Resort in Sardinia for luxury hotels, just to name a few.

The Company expands in 2013 with the entry of Linda Massignan, Fusto’s partner in work and in life, who brings her experience in adv communication, management and organization of luxury events. This is how, together, they found the FUSTO Milano brand.

Among the goals achieved by Gianluca in his career, the first place at the World Junior Pastry Championship 2011 at SIGEP Rimini as coach of the Italian team and the Best Italian Pastry Chef of the Year 2012 at Identità Golose International Congress in Milan.

In January 2018 he becomes a member of the Associazione Italiana Ambasciatori del Gusto (Association of Italian Ambassadors of Taste) which deals with the enhancement and promotion of Made in Italy agri-food and wine culture.

The year 2020 should not only represent the beginning of a new decade but also a new, very important milestone for the career of Gianluca Fusto, together with the creative director Linda Massignan: the opening in Milan, in March, of their first Signature Atelier and School and the development of FUSTO Milano Pastry and Chocolate brand.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the pastry chef Gianluca Fusto and the creative director Linda Massignan decide to focus on their laboratory as a new concept in the pastry sector: a “secret” LABoutique, the world’s first Pastry SpeakEasy, dedicated to the study, production and sale (retail, online and delivery) of Cioccolato e Pasticceria Artigiana Contemporanea (Chocolate and Artisan Contemporary Pastry) branded FUSTO Milano. Located in the heart of the city, a few steps from the elegant Porta Venezia district, Gianluca and Linda’s Pastry SpeakEasy is hidden in a charming “old Milan” courtyard, behind a massive wooden door.

As when visiting a club of friends, to be welcomed you must first ring the bell. If you find it… As a matter of fact, the watchword is… Suonare FUSTO! / Ring FUSTO!

This innovative project brings together the creativity and long experience of Gianluca in pastry and Linda in adv, communication and luxury event management. It is based on the excellence of raw materials, cutting-edge design, technology applied to artisan know-how and extreme personalization in the approach to customers. A concept which in four years – and in the worst recent historical moment on the planet – has obtained a number of prestigious awards and an important international media coverage (press, online and social).

Just to name a few: the “Most Innovative Format of Year 2021” and the “Tre Torte” (Three Cakes – the highest recognition) of the Gambero Rosso Guide to Best Italian Pastry and Pastry Chefs 2021 (confirmed for year 2022, 2023 and 2024); “Entrepreneurs of the year 2021” and “Best Practice High-Tech Pastry Chef of the Year 2023” of the Food Community Awards international Event, “N.1 Chocolate Pralines in Italy 2023” of the 50 Top Italy guide.

In March 2022, Gianluca represents his Country as a guest and speaker at the First Edition of the Pastry stage in Madrid Fusión 2022, the first Italian Master Pastry Chef in the twenty-year history of the International Congress. In April 2022 he is elected among the members of the Board of Arbitrators of the Italian Association of Ambassadors of Taste.

At the culmination of this journey, in September 2023, FUSTO Milano is awarded the “PASTRY DISCOVERY GEM AWARD 2023” by the prestigious international guide LA LISTE.com in Paris, making it the only Italian entity in the Olympus of the global pastry industry.

The great research into the world of cocoa, Gianluca’s favorite ingredient, and the recognized excellence of his chocolate production leads to the declination of the FUSTO Milano brand in GIANLUCA FUSTO Cioccolato.

To crown the great satisfactions of these years, Gianluca Fusto consolidates the collaboration with the luxury brand BVLGARI Il Cioccolato, becoming international creative director chocolatier for all the Bvlgari Hotels and Resorts properties in the most exclusive destinations of the world.

In recent years, Linda and Gianluca have published numerous best-sellers dedicated to the various fields of sweet art:

  • “PERCORSI” (Italian Gourmet, 2013 – new bilingual edition 2018), the first eagerly awaited book for professionals which delves into the Master’s vision for fine dining dessert, boutique pastry, chocolate and modern ice cream pastry
  • “LE MIE 24 ORE DOLCI/My sweet 24 hours” (Gribaudo/Feltrinelli, 2014) a collection of sweet recipes for every moment of the day for the gourmet and non – professional readers
  • “CROSTATE” (Italian Gourmet, 2014) a fabulous and pioneering monograph for professionals which has changed the approach to a great pastry classic, precisely TARTS, revisiting it in an ultra-modern key
  • “MONO. Monoporzioni / Single serving in Pastry” (Italian Gourmet, 2017), presented at the World Pastry Stars 2017 in Milan, anticipating the worldwide trend of single portion pastries and desserts.

Gianluca Fusto is also included in the book “100 Chefs x 10 Years. The 100 chefs who changed Italian cuisine” (Mondadori publishing).

As Pastry Chef Guest Star, Gianluca has made several TV appearances. Among others:

  • “DE.Sign” a format by Sky ARTE which defines him as the only “Italian architect of pastry”.
  • “TOP CHEF Middle East” broadcasted in all Middle East Countries.
  • the very popular 2022/23 Italian edition of “MASTERCHEF “.

In addition to the challenge of finding new ways to develop their own vision of pastry in Italy and abroad and the continuous work of international consultancy, Gianluca Fusto and Linda Massignan are finalizing a new book on their favorite ingredient: Chocolate.