A sweet guest at the Made school, the post-diploma course in hospitality management and food-and-wine disciplines of Fondazione Campus. Damiano Carrara, the internationally renowned Lucca pastry chef, will return to Lucca on Sunday 17 February at 5.30 p.m. to present his latest book, Nella vita tutto è possibile (In life everything is possible).
To dream, to believe, to try: the ingredients of success. Damiano Carrara — a successful chef in the USA, a contestant in various talent shows and, since 2017, a judge of the TV programme Bake Off Italia — will talk about his story of departures and returns, of successes and defeats.
“My wish,” recounts Damiano, “is to be able to convey, through my story, courage and positivity. I would like to make young people understand — and in particular the students of the Made school, who perhaps dream of doing the same job as me — that if you truly believe in a project, with commitment and sacrifice it is possible to realise any ambition. Passion is the engine of our life, the one that guides us, that spurs us to look ahead, to dream.”
Damiano’s story is not made up only of successes, but also of much apprenticeship. It was 2011 when, very young, he left Lucca, his loved ones and a steady job to fly to Ireland to work in bars and learn English. From there he moved on to the next goal. He went to the USA, where he worked first as a barman, then as a pastry chef, offering the people of Los Angeles traditional Italian recipes revisited in a modern key and prepared with ingredients of the highest quality.
With great determination and entrepreneurial spirit, his American dream came true, and his brother Massimiliano, a pastry chef with long experience in Lucca, joined him too, to expand the business with three shops.
“Damiano’s,” says Professor Enrica Lemmi, director of the Made school, “is a precious example for all young people, who unfortunately today are too often discouraged by the dynamics of the job market. Commitment and specialisation always pay off, in every sector. With our study paths — the Made School for food-and-wine disciplines, the degree course for tourism sciences — we want to offer the best possible training so that every student can fulfil themselves both humanly and professionally.”
The presentation of Damiano Carrara’s book will be held at the Made school, at Palazzo Boccella in San Gennaro, and is organised in collaboration with the Ubik bookshop of Lucca.
photo: www.carrarapastries.us