Luca Caviezel

The Pope of gelati

Luca Caviezel

The Pope of gelati

Three great Swiss names have dominated the culture of sweet desserts, almost non-existent in Sicily except for the Sunday tradition of pastries produced in convents: Koch, Caflish and Caviezel.

All three came from Graubünden when Switzerland could still mean the lack of future in some isolated mountain areas. They each created successful businesses, the first pastry shops as understood in Northern Europe. In Sicily up until the war, they used to talk about "cosi duci", sweets, and it was a nun's secret.

The case of Luca Caviezel is, however, the most singular.

After completing his higher education in Switzerland, Luca specialized in food chemistry, first at the cantonal analytical laboratory in Choir, then in the analytical and research laboratories of major companies in his country. Back in Italy after the World War, he became production manager at his father's company, "Pasticceria Svizzera A.caviezel & C." in Catania.

The business born in 1914, having overcome two world wars, needed a new strength. Four brothers and a sister kept busy relaunching a business that has given prestige to the city by introducing the Cataneses to the confectionery of Central Europe.

In fact, the typical Sicilian pastry knew neither butter nor cream; the typical fat was lard.

The company immediately prospered with a restaurant and three shops selling pastries, ice cream and gastronomy, in whose laboratory worked 72 employees, producing everything from classic pastries to the typical sweets of Sicily, from biscuits, ice creams, sweets and pralines, from candied fruit to sweets, from gastronomy to cuisine, from catering to banquets. Luca also runs the ice cream shop "Igloo" still in Catania.

For more than 40 years he has been giving courses on the techniques and technology of ice cream making as an expert in professional training. He was one of the first teachers of the refresher and advanced courses organized by the National Committee of Gelato Makers; in one of these courses, held at CAPAC in Milan from 8 to 19 February 1971 on the theme "The optimal formulation of recipes through the qualitative analysis of gelato", Luca Caviezel introduced for the first time in Italy the technique of balancing ingredients in the formulation of recipes.

He is also involved in professional training and technical consultancy, both in Italy and abroad. He has published "Scienza e Tecnologia del Gelato Artigianale" (1986), "Scienza e Tecnologia del Semifreddo artigianale" (1992), "Scienza e Tecnologia di Sorbetti, Granite e Dintorni" (2002) and the "Dizionario di Scienza e Tecnologia del Gelato Artigianale" (2006).

He is a reference collaborator for the magazine "Pasticceria Internazionale" and other European publications, as well as for the Treccani Encyclopaedia Institute in Rome. In 2006, the National Academy of Master Confectioners (AMPI) rewards in Palermo his extraordinary career and in 2014, thanks to the work of his colleagues gathered in the Ducezio Association of Sicilian Master Confectioners and the Mayor of Catania Mr. Blanco, Luca Caviezel is elevated to the dignity of honorary citizen of his city.

Three great Swiss names have dominated the culture of sweet desserts, almost non-existent in Sicily except for the Sunday tradition of pastries produced in convents: Koch, Caflish and Caviezel.

All three came from Graubünden when Switzerland could still mean the lack of future in some isolated mountain areas. They each created successful businesses, the first pastry shops as understood in Northern Europe. In Sicily up until the war, they used to talk about "cosi duci", sweets, and it was a nun's secret.

The case of Luca Caviezel is, however, the most singular.

After completing his higher education in Switzerland, Luca specialized in food chemistry, first at the cantonal analytical laboratory in Choir, then in the analytical and research laboratories of major companies in his country. Back in Italy after the World War, he became production manager at his father's company, "Pasticceria Svizzera A.caviezel & C." in Catania.

The business born in 1914, having overcome two world wars, needed a new strength. Four brothers and a sister kept busy relaunching a business that has given prestige to the city by introducing the Cataneses to the confectionery of Central Europe.

In fact, the typical Sicilian pastry knew neither butter nor cream; the typical fat was lard.

The company immediately prospered with a restaurant and three shops selling pastries, ice cream and gastronomy, in whose laboratory worked 72 employees, producing everything from classic pastries to the typical sweets of Sicily, from biscuits, ice creams, sweets and pralines, from candied fruit to sweets, from gastronomy to cuisine, from catering to banquets. Luca also runs the ice cream shop "Igloo" still in Catania.

For more than 40 years he has been giving courses on the techniques and technology of ice cream making as an expert in professional training. He was one of the first teachers of the refresher and advanced courses organized by the National Committee of Gelato Makers; in one of these courses, held at CAPAC in Milan from 8 to 19 February 1971 on the theme "The optimal formulation of recipes through the qualitative analysis of gelato", Luca Caviezel introduced for the first time in Italy the technique of balancing ingredients in the formulation of recipes.

He is also involved in professional training and technical consultancy, both in Italy and abroad. He has published "Scienza e Tecnologia del Gelato Artigianale" (1986), "Scienza e Tecnologia del Semifreddo artigianale" (1992), "Scienza e Tecnologia di Sorbetti, Granite e Dintorni" (2002) and the "Dizionario di Scienza e Tecnologia del Gelato Artigianale" (2006).

He is a reference collaborator for the magazine "Pasticceria Internazionale" and other European publications, as well as for the Treccani Encyclopaedia Institute in Rome. In 2006, the National Academy of Master Confectioners (AMPI) rewards in Palermo his extraordinary career and in 2014, thanks to the work of his colleagues gathered in the Ducezio Association of Sicilian Master Confectioners and the Mayor of Catania Mr. Blanco, Luca Caviezel is elevated to the dignity of honorary citizen of his city.

Three great Swiss names have dominated the culture of sweet desserts, almost non-existent in Sicily except for the Sunday tradition of pastries produced in convents: Koch, Caflish and Caviezel.

All three came from Graubünden when Switzerland could still mean the lack of future in some isolated mountain areas. They each created successful businesses, the first pastry shops as understood in Northern Europe. In Sicily up until the war, they used to talk about "cosi duci", sweets, and it was a nun's secret.

The case of Luca Caviezel is, however, the most singular.

After completing his higher education in Switzerland, Luca specialized in food chemistry, first at the cantonal analytical laboratory in Choir, then in the analytical and research laboratories of major companies in his country. Back in Italy after the World War, he became production manager at his father's company, "Pasticceria Svizzera A.caviezel & C." in Catania.

The business born in 1914, having overcome two world wars, needed a new strength. Four brothers and a sister kept busy relaunching a business that has given prestige to the city by introducing the Cataneses to the confectionery of Central Europe.

In fact, the typical Sicilian pastry knew neither butter nor cream; the typical fat was lard.

The company immediately prospered with a restaurant and three shops selling pastries, ice cream and gastronomy, in whose laboratory worked 72 employees, producing everything from classic pastries to the typical sweets of Sicily, from biscuits, ice creams, sweets and pralines, from candied fruit to sweets, from gastronomy to cuisine, from catering to banquets. Luca also runs the ice cream shop "Igloo" still in Catania.

For more than 40 years he has been giving courses on the techniques and technology of ice cream making as an expert in professional training. He was one of the first teachers of the refresher and advanced courses organized by the National Committee of Gelato Makers; in one of these courses, held at CAPAC in Milan from 8 to 19 February 1971 on the theme "The optimal formulation of recipes through the qualitative analysis of gelato", Luca Caviezel introduced for the first time in Italy the technique of balancing ingredients in the formulation of recipes.

He is also involved in professional training and technical consultancy, both in Italy and abroad. He has published "Scienza e Tecnologia del Gelato Artigianale" (1986), "Scienza e Tecnologia del Semifreddo artigianale" (1992), "Scienza e Tecnologia di Sorbetti, Granite e Dintorni" (2002) and the "Dizionario di Scienza e Tecnologia del Gelato Artigianale" (2006).

He is a reference collaborator for the magazine "Pasticceria Internazionale" and other European publications, as well as for the Treccani Encyclopaedia Institute in Rome. In 2006, the National Academy of Master Confectioners (AMPI) rewards in Palermo his extraordinary career and in 2014, thanks to the work of his colleagues gathered in the Ducezio Association of Sicilian Master Confectioners and the Mayor of Catania Mr. Blanco, Luca Caviezel is elevated to the dignity of honorary citizen of his city.