Host is Milan, and Milan is Host. It seems good and right that the leading hospitality fair, which every two years brings companies and visitors from the Five Continents to the Milanese city to take stock of the future of hospitality, has among the protagonists of hundreds of events and championships the sweet symbol of the city, the panettone. After a very successful first edition, the Panettone World Championship is back again this year, organized by the Academy of the Masters of Mother Yeast and Italian Panettone.

The cylindrical dome-shaped cake that recalls the Cathedral and which for centuries has been the best kept secret of the city will make a fine show of itself in his home. And now, after the industrial phase that has spread it throughout Italy as a Christmas cake, it has definitely crossed national borders, spreading everywhere.

So much so that the selections have also flown abroad and among the 34 semi finalists - selected in the pastry and cooking schools that hosted the selections in Italy and abroad - four will be foreigners, from Spain, Singapore, Brazil and Argentina.

The appointment is therefore on 24 October 2021 for the final at Host, while the semi-final on 22 October will be held at ALMA, the International School of Italian Cuisine in the Colorno Palace.

At the center of the challenge between the great protagonists of the dessert - in 2019 the baker Alessandro Slama, world champion for the technical jury won, while the panettone of Maestro Salvatore Gabbiano conquered the critical jury - there is the traditional artisan panettone with all its history and truly unique quality.

The novelty of the 2021 edition is the involvement of the popular jury: "Our panettone is aimed at the public - explained Maurizio Bonanomi of the Academy's Board of Directors -. For this reason we have chosen to support the jury of professional technicians, recognized all over the world, and the jury of critics, made up of authoritative journalists, the jury of those who simply love panettone, its history, the driving force of history, tradition, passion and commitment that it encompasses ".

"For us, the final of HostMilano represents an important moment to complete and crown the journey that began in September 2020, when we started the selection of the championship - comments Claudio Gatti, President of the Academy of Italian Mother Yeast and Panettone Masters -. It will be a face-to-face meeting and this is very important for us because it will allow direct comparison, interaction and exchange of ideas. After a year of webinars and calls on the various platforms, it is essential for us to be able to start building the future on an international stage like that of HostMilano, where we will talk about the evolution of traditional artisan Panettone, conservation techniques to guarantee shelf-life, and also about the importance of labeling and the quality of the raw material. HostMilano reconfirms itself as an important moment of comparison and growth for the entire pastry sector ".