Interview with Luca Api, from passion to excellence
Luca Api, who has just turned 28, is a young pastry chef from the Marches moved by a strong passion and clear objectives: to reach the high levels of Italian pastry, working hard and investing in continuous training. Four years ago he decided to get involved personally in the family business – Pasticceria Silvana – started by his mother in 2005 in Ostra Vetere, a welcoming village in the province of Ancona: he moved the shop to a larger premises and now welcomes customers in a pastry shop complete with cafeteria, ice cream parlor and bar.
Luca, how did your passion for pastry come about?
The pleasure of preparing desserts has accompanied me since I was a child: it all started when my mother opened the family restaurant. I became more and more passionate and I decided to embark on a path of research and training, dedicating myself to my passion and putting all of myself into this activity. I never stop, I continue to innovate and aim high: my goal is to enter AMPI, the Italian Pastry Masters Academy.
Speaking of innovations, why did you choose to adopt a new exposure with a flat edge drop?
I wanted a modern and linear venue, to establish a direct link with the customer. This type of showcase guarantees me to achieve the intent in an optimal way. Furthermore, it offers me a double function: it displays the product and at the same time acts as a counter. The customer can observe our specialties while leaning on the shelf to taste them.
Since you have this display system, has something changed in your way of making pastry?
The new display is much more versatile and dynamic, because it allows me to vary the products presented throughout the day. For example, after having finished the brioches for breakfast, I can decide to display the tarts and baked cakes. Now, it is even more essential that our creations are perfect and very precise, because the customer can notice all the details up close: there must be no smudges.
Your restaurant is both a pastry shop and an ice cream shop. How do you manage two such different worlds, even in terms of product display?
It’s true, they are two different worlds, but at the same time very close. In the laboratory it is necessary to have the right equipment, for pastry and ice cream. Then, you need to know how to manage the two departments separately, without contamination. In production, I dedicate a part of the working day to ice cream making and all the rest to pastry. In terms of display, I wanted to give each department its own space: for ice cream, I have a pozzetto counter detached from the rest of the display. All thanks to the FB Brand.
Your gaze is fixed on the goals you want to achieve in the future, but now we are in a delicate phase. Has the Covid-19 emergency affected you?
The enthusiasm remained the same as before. Sure, the first few days were tough, but the tenacity and desire to do things are always there. Inside of me I have a certainty: we are the first to fight fears and communicate a message of trust to customers. I had set myself important goals for my 30th birthday and maybe, given the unpredictable situation, I’ll have to translate them over time, but it doesn’t matter: we need to get through this period by continuing to roll up our sleeves and pedaling with our heads down, without hiding fear behind us.