IRCA Ambassadors and Grand Masters: an outstanding team
At the IRCA Academy, we have a team of masters in the art of making patisserie, bread, chocolate and gelato with more than 300 years of experience between them.
Amongst our master chefs we have several chocolate art world champions, winners of prestigious awards of the calibre of the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie, and chefs from celebrated Michelin-starred restaurants.
Our excellent team of world-class instructors is at your service!
For over fifteen years Omar Busi has been teaching and consulting on the evolution of sweet and savory food for Italian and international companies. His mission is to present original recipes that are always new and innovative so that consumers never fail to find the end product irresistible.
Winner in 2015 of the Cake Festival and a gold medal at the most prestigious international competitions, in 2016 she is part of the jury for wedding cakes at the Italian Wedding Awards. Her passion allowed her to travel around Europe and the Middle East to draw inspiration from new cultures and share her experiences.
Master baker and pastry chef with more than 25 years of professional experience. Dirk joined Irca and Dobla in 2021 taking on the responsibility for the DACH region as an application engineer for bakery, pastry and ice cream.
Personal philosophy? To bring a smile to my customers' faces!
Young Sicilian pastry chef and chocolatier, Tommaso is the patisserie and chocolate art world champion. For years he has worked as an instructor and technical advisor in several companies in Italy and overseas, creating real works of art that never fail to amaze customers in the finest patisseries.
Giacomo is a business coach who has been working in the food industry for years and organizes training courses to develop greater awareness of the business. With over 25 years of experience in the sector and a career as a manager at Pernigotti, Giacomo is a great professional able to offer extremely practical and effective solutions for the resolution of problems related to the development of the business in gelato, pastry, chocolate, and bakery.
Worked in several pastry shops and restaurant across the Netherlands, before joining a large producer of bakery ingredients as a creative chef. Worked his way through the ranks and started his own company in 2018 as freelance creative chef and product developer. Joined Irca/Dobla 2021 as a Freelance pastry chef for Europe.
Always pushing the bounders of sweet and salty! The first icecream he made in Irca was a hazelnut, salted caramel and pancetta gelato. Still the talk of the town….
Michel nasce a Parigi e studia in Francia con i migliori pastry chef del mondo. La sua passione per la ricerca e l'innovazione nell'ambito della pasticceria e della cioccolateria lo porta a girare il mondo intero. Si avvicina con curiosità e meticolosità allo studio di questa materia, sviluppando un punto di vista critico e innovativo. Vince importanti competizioni a New York e a Barcellona, classificandosi al primo posto. A Lione viene nominato Campione del Mondo di Pasticceria, ricevendo così il premio più ambito: la Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie.
Davide Angei has worked in the gelato industry for over twenty years. He joined the IRCA team in 2016 and his wealth of knowledge was invaluable when developing our JOYGELATO brand together with fellow ambassador Agustin De Marco.
If you don’t know how to call an ice-cream, ask Davide! All of our most original ice cream products have also been influenced by Davide, from 'Melizèn' to 'Croccantissimo Me'.
Highly skilled chocolate and bonbon expert as well as a master pastry chef, Gennaro began his career in 1970. Over the years he has had the opportunity to specialize while working at some of the largest companies in the industry and also won many prestigious awards. A consummate professional, Gennaro has also been an instructor at some of the top professional training centres and joined the team of ambassadors in 2019.
Gennaro is famous for his immeasurable charm: he is always in a good mood when he comes into the chocolate laboratory! He has been an integral part of the team of ambassadors during SIGEP for many years and has personally developed and made wonderful creations with IRCA products.
Fabio is the director of our Academy. He began his career as a pastry chef at the famous “Da Vittorio” restaurant in Bergamo before moving to London to work in a celebrated patisserie. Fabio’s experience in London gave him an opportunity to expand his knowledge of patisserie and lend his profile a more international flavor. He joined the IRCA team in 2010.
Known by everyone as ‘The Birox’, Fabio is the epitome of creativity at IRCA. He designed an entire display with an ‘around the world’ theme for the 2016 SIGEP, creating twelve desserts to represent twelve different countries.
Alessandro taught breadmaking and pastry making for many years, including at the Cast Alimenti cookery school, and has extensive experience as an instructor at Italy’s top schools. A food technician and specialist consultant, Alessandro joined the IRCA team as a baking instructor in 2017.
Hugely talented and experienced baker, Alessandro loves teaching and is happy to share his secrets. Everyone loves Alessandro for his irresistible charm and uniquely ‘Bresciani’ personality.
Huge fan of patisserie, Piero began his career in some of the big patisseries in Syracuse as a pastry chef’s assistant before going on to become head chef then an external consultant for several companies in the industry. Piero joined the team of ambassadors in 2018.
Piero is an incredibly hard worker with a meticulous eye for detail and an expert in his field. His professionalism and creativity are just two of the many reasons why he was immediately asked to join the team of ambassadors at SIGEP.
Davide graduated in 2014 at the hotel school as a pastry chef, immediately enters the world of work as an apprentice in an artisan pastry, then growing in more and more structured realities and with different outlets, but alternating training courses to be always up to date. He finally joined IRCA in 2021 as part of the Team Ambassador.
The world of leavened pastry has always been the part he likes most, always looking for the most particular combinations and following the trends of new products. Davide loves to be in contact with people and moments of work sharing, he does not miss any opportunity to improve himself and pass on his passion for pastry to colleagues and customers.
After his studies, Antonio began his career working in renowned patisseries, hotels, and restaurants, such as Iginio Massari’s Patisserie Veneto and the Pierino Penati restaurant, which has a Michelin star. His wealth of experience enabled him to travel and work all around the world. Antonio took part in the TV program on the “Gambero Rosso Channel” with Simone Rugiati in 2017 and joined the IRCA team in 2018.
Dubbed the 'globetrotting pastry chef', Antonio is one of the ambassadors in the highest demand with patisseries worldwide. Thanks to his extensive experience with modern patisserie and his sunny disposition, Antonio shares the secrets to making traditional Italian desserts and wins everyone over with his delicacies!
IRCA ambassador since 2018, Francesco studied at the Chef Academy in Terni before specializing at the Academy of Italian Master Chocolatiers. Before coming here, Francesco had also worked as a pastry chef in several places, such as Pasticcerie Zamberletti and the National Hotel Rimini.
A sublime chocolate artist and a massive fan of chocolate art, Francesco transformed his home into a chocolate laboratory, where he experiments with innovative recipes and tests new designs that defy the laws of physics.
After graduating from the Giovanni Falcone Institute in Gallarate, Isacco joined the IRCA team in 2018 and immediately bowled everyone over with his charming personality. In addition to being an IRCA ambassador, he also volunteers at the Amicorum Association in Cassano Magnago.
Isacco is mad about music, but we all know his biggest passion is Juventus. He even made a dessert in the shape of a shield with the IRCA team and gave it to his idols in person!
This master Gelato maker has owned one of his hometown’s most popular ice-cream parlours for many years! Once he got his diploma, Marco embarked on his career and soon made his mark on the industry with his creativity and talent. Marco joined the IRCA team in 2017 and became a key member of the Academy’s teaching team.
Marco actively collaborates on creating new recipes and inventing new flavors for the JOYGELATO range. He loves plays on words and always succeeds in coming up with just the right rhyme for any new product!
Luciano started out as an apprentice in his family’s “Patisserie Parinetti” patisserie together with his brother Paolo. He joined IRCA in 2009 and works as a technical demonstrator traveling to countries throughout Europe and beyond. Luciano moved to the mass retail branch of the company in 2018 where he works as Ambassador.
After traveling around the world for work, you would imagine Luciano would take it easy: but as soon as he has a few days off, he is organizing trips or exploring the mountains. He never misses a chance to seek out fresh inspiration for his creations. His 'bread pictures' are real masterpieces!
A master baker with many years of experience teaching how to bake bread and leavened goods at many different national institutes. Stefano is a food technician, demonstrator, and freelancer, as well as a food manager, entrepreneur, and consultant for launching and developing products in major industrial companies.
Stefano loves taking an unconventional approach to his work and studying alternative and complex methods. He has worked with the research and development team for many years and is the “daddy” of several of the top products in the bakery range.
Expert pastry chef , Oriol completed a succession of specialist courses in Barcelona before starting his career in the early 2000s and working with many patisseries. Demonstrator as well as an instructor, Oriol joined IRCA at the beginning of 2015.
Oriol’s in-depth knowledge of the industry together with his professionalism won over even the most demanding top chefs. He loves experimenting new flavors and recipes with IRCA products and his creations sell like hotcakes every time!
A creative chef, pastry chef and baker since 1983, Pierluigi started out as an apprentice in a bakery but his creativity soon saw him change focus to working with patisserie. After years of courses and hard work in several different patisserie kitchens, Pierluigi started teaching these crafts in two hotel management schools and private schools. He joined IRCA in 2018 as a specialist patisserie ambassador.
Pierluigi is a real aficionado when it comes to pastries and cakes, and is revered by professionals throughout Italy! He loves desserts and technology with a keen eye for the latest product trends, which he has become so enthusiastic about sharing that he is now an influencer on social media. His profiles are always packed with hundreds of photos of his creations!
Making patisserie is Luca’s lifelong dream; once he got his diploma, he began his career by working as an apprentice in a patisserie in Marina di Massa. That was the genesis of his love story with this craft, which has taken him all over Italy and given him the opportunity to work with chefs of the caliber of Iginio Massari and Stefano Laghi. Luca came to IRCA in 2019 and joined the team of ambassadors.
Luca loves the world of Viennoiseries and is always experimenting with new ways to combine flavours and colours. He has won awards with Cast Alimenti for his creations and since he joined IRCA everyone has been competing to taste his Viennese pastries!
Mirko has always known that he would work in the hotel industry. But his grandmother was a real expert cake baker, and she helped Mirko to realize that patisserie would be his specialty. He completed a series of apprenticeships after graduating from the Giovanni Falcone Institute in Gallarate in 2018, and then joined IRCA.
Mirko has an innate sensitivity and refinement when it comes to baking and he found a way to put this to good use during his free time as well by volunteering for Italy’s Civil Protection Department. He loves Northern Europe, and invented a themed bonbon that uses the flavor of IRCA chocolate to celebrate the best of Holland!
Federico graduated with his professional pastry chef diploma from ALMA where he studied under the famous Chef Gualtiero Marchesi. Following an apprenticeship at Ernst Knamm’s "L'antica Arte del Dolce" and other impressive experiences as a pastry chef, Federico joined the IRCA team in 2017.
Choco bonbons have always been his passion and his speciality! Federico is our flavor artist and researches surprising pairings that satisfy even the most sophisticated palates.
