Father Of The Tiramisu, Roberto 'Loli' Linguanotto Dies At 81

Wouldn’t it be always magic if desserts were invented the way Roberto Linguanotto described his unintended creation of the Tiramisu? Apparently, the Italian dessert was born when Linguanotto accidentally dropped mascarpone into a bowl of eggs and sugar. It is later that he added ladyfingers or Savoiardi, the Italian meringue cookie and the espresso, along with Alba, the wife of the Italian restaurateur Ado Campeol, who ran Le Beccherie, an Italian restaurant in Treviso. This was in the 1970s, and in 1972, the Tiramisu (which means ‘pick me up’ in Italian) was added to Le Beccherie’s menu. 

On Sunday, at the age of 81, Roberto ‘Loli’ Linguanotto passed away after battling with illness for a prolonged time. 

Of course, no dish ever got famous without controversy. It’s oft said that the dish was founded in the brothels of Italy centuries ago but who’s going to prove that? And then there was Carminantonio Iannaccone, who used to run the bakery Piedigrotto in Baltimore’s Little Italy who had told The Washington Post in 2007 that he created tiramisu after wanting to make a dish celebrating the “everyday flavours of the region.” Eggs, mascarpone, ladyfinger biscuits (known as Savoiardi), strong coffee and some marsala became, in Iannacconne’s hands, an “elegant, free-standing cake.” His brother Giuseppe, so the story goes, sold that recipe to Le Beccherie, who Iannacconne said passed it off as its own. In an article in The Post, Beccherie owner Carlo Campeol called the theory “preposterous.” 

The famous Le Beccherie, located in northeastern Italy, issued a statement on its official Facebook page, stating: “We join the mourning for the passing of Roberto "Loli" Linguanotto, who marked the history of Beccherie and the most beloved dessert in the world. His memory lives on in our restaurant! Thank you loli”. 

Linguanotto had worked at the Treviso restaurant as a pastry chef when he developed the recipe alongside the restaurant owner’s wife, Alba Campeol.