Anna Prandoni has been tasting, studying, sampling, and writing about Italy’s quintessential Christmas cake, panettone, for over twenty years. Fatto a fette (Sliced), published by Cinquesensi, analyzes this internationally popular phenomenon, which over time has become a benchmark in contemporary pastry-making, explaining where it originated, how its fame evolved, and why its recent history reflects modern society. A journey of thought and reflection—among the professionals who prepare it, the industries that market it, and those that produce its ingredients—explains how this Italian ambassador has now become a heritage and metaphor for the world. Discover how it is made, described, sold, and counterfeited, slice by slice.
The voices of the protagonists were collected by Cristina Viggè, a journalist with a degree in modern literature and a master’s degree in communication and marketing, who made her debut in journalism. She then moved into travel, catering, and mixology, working in the editorial offices of Itinerari Travel, milanodabere.it, and Grande Cucina. Today, she runs the live webzine Fuori, Petra Molino Quaglia’s editorial project, giving voice to the world of craftsmanship.
“I have always avoided making merit lists with stars and scores on the most celebrated, most voted, most acclaimed, and least known leavened products in the world. I have always done this: despite talking about it every year for almost twenty years, I have always chosen not to make merit rankings, not to give judgments but to inform, to tell stories, to explore, to interview professionals. I am not here with a red pen in my hand; on the contrary, I am here to understand and convey what I have seen, understood, and intuited to fans of this dessert like me, my only true reference point. I am a food reporter, and that is how I have always seen my work.“ The author introduces her book ”Fatto a fette!“ (Sliced!)
”It’s not an easy decision these days. The publishing world has changed a lot, and what pays off the most, what makes social media fly, what gives visibility, is almost always sensationalism, the scoop of whoever gets there first, no matter if they have to push others aside to do so. It’s made up of social media posts that don’t match the content of the articles, of screams about minor issues that are turned into matters of state. It consists of contemptuous judgments on the work of others, preferably if those others are famous, so that the digital ripple effect is more powerful and those who throw the stone are flooded with reflected light. I’m not in, I never have been. So in this book there are only gastronomic chronicles, and no popularity rankings. I advise you, I accompany you, and together we try to understand which paths of taste are worth pursuing. […]
The author | Anna Prandoni, journalist and writer, coordinates Gastronomika, the food and wine section of the daily newspaper Linkiesta. She created the Gastronomika Festival, the first think tank in the world of food and wine, Forketters, the social dining project that takes food off Instagram, and Tavola spigolosa, a permanent observatory on food communication.
Former editor-in-chief of La Cucina Italiana and Grande Cucina, and web editor of Italian Gourmet, she was responsible for gourmet courses and digital advisor for the Gualtiero Marchesi Academy, and developed the editorial projects Scarpetta and MilanoSecrets. After 36 cookbooks published in Italy, the Italian cookbook for American children, in English, Let’s Cook Italian, in 2024 she wrote the essay Il Senso Buono, winner of the Bancarella Cucina selection award. TEDx speaker on the theme #piùcibomenofood.
She was awarded the Excellence 2021 publishing prize, the Prix Multimedia 2023 from the Académie Internationale de la Gastronomie, and the Kyle Phillips 2024 prize.
