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2011 - www.pasticceriainternazionale.com - n. 18 2 Happiness is a family and three shops “LIVE” FROM NEW YORK CITY It looks like the title of a film, but it is the story of BIAGIO SETTEPANI who, with his wife Pina and their three children, have made a life for themselves in New York City To talk about Biagio Settepani and his family is always a plea- sure. And not just because they are close friends, but mainly be- cause it means telling the story of a growing success, a real passion and a big heart. The story begins in Sicily, specifically in Ventimiglia di Palermo, where Biagio set off for the first time to New York with his twin brother Antonino and his parents. About this first phase, much useful information can be found in the se- cond edition of "Sweet Sensations of Sicily", edited by Salva- tore Farina, with pictures by Giancarlo Bononi, for Lussografica (For orders, [email protected]). The family is the starting point of this article because Biagio, with professionalism and passion (in addition to numerous awards), owes much to both his family of origin and to the one he has created with his wife Pina. Together and literally step by step, they "conquered" their America, today boasting three very well established shops: Bruno Bakery in La Guardia Place (in Manhattan), about 130 m 2 , of which 100 are dedicated to sales, a laboratory of 120 m 2 and another 90 m 2 warehouse with 20 employees; on Staten Island, there is Pasticceria Bruno Bakery & Restaurant in Forest Ave- nue (280 m 2 total, of which 170 for a pastry and cuisine laboratory, and 35 employees); and Pasticceria Bruno on Hylan Boulevard, with over 600 m 2 and 40 employees. It is teamwork all the way: first the parents and Antonino, then Pina, a woman of great altruism and kin- dness (qualities that are common to her husband), who never has enough to give. And then there are three children: Salvatore, 25, grew up in his father's laboratory, did an internship with Biasetto in Padua, and now leads the pastry shop on Hylan Blvd; Fina spends her spare time (she recently graduated in marketing) in the other large shop on Staten Island, because she is very good with custo- mers and with training assistants. And the ‘little one’ (so to speak, given that he is 17 years old) of the family, Joseph, has just left for the prestigious Culinary Institute of America (a university his brother studied at) and is quite happy to lend a hand in the laboratory, de- spite his football prowess. Settepani's pastry making combines Italian tradition with American (and a touch of French), a colourful mix of cultures lived and loved, which lead to an offering of cakes (from tiramisu to the keylime tart with lime cream and pastry), cookies (from Lenten cookies to "diet" ones with chocolate and cherries), single portions, frozen desserts, muffins, jams, bakery products and savoury pastries. But it is the mignons that best express this mix of cultures and techniques that go far beyond the Italy-USA tandem: about twenty mignons and forty single portions, numbers that make them unique in the area; the fa- vourite is the chocolate mousse. PASTRY

"LIVE" from New York City

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2011 - www.pasticceriainternazionale.com - n. 1822

Happiness is a family and three shops

“LIVE” FROM NEW YORK CITYIt looks like the title of a film, but it is the story of BIAGIO SETTEPANI who, with hiswife Pina and their three children, have made a life for themselves in New York City

To talk about Biagio Settepani and his family is always a plea-sure. And not just because they are close friends, but mainly be-cause it means telling the story of a growing success, a realpassion and a big heart. The story begins in Sicily, specifically inVentimiglia di Palermo, where Biagio set off for the first time toNew York with his twin brother Antonino and his parents. Aboutthis first phase, much useful information can be found in the se-cond edition of "Sweet Sensations of Sicily", edited by Salva-tore Farina, with pictures by Giancarlo Bononi, for Lussografica(For orders, [email protected]).The family is the starting point of this article because Biagio, withprofessionalism and passion (in addition to numerous awards), owesmuch to both his family of origin and to the one he has created withhis wife Pina. Together and literally step by step, they "conquered"their America, today boasting three very well established shops:Bruno Bakery in La Guardia Place (in Manhattan), about 130 m2,of which 100 are dedicated to sales, a laboratory of 120 m2 andanother 90 m2 warehouse with 20 employees; on Staten Island,there is Pasticceria Bruno Bakery & Restaurant in Forest Ave-nue (280 m2 total, of which 170 for a pastry and cuisine laboratory,and 35 employees); and Pasticceria Bruno on Hylan Boulevard, withover 600 m2 and 40 employees. It is teamwork all the way: first the

parents and Antonino, then Pina, a woman of great altruism and kin-dness (qualities that are common to her husband), who never hasenough to give. And then there are three children: Salvatore, 25,grew up in his father's laboratory, did an internship with Biasetto inPadua, and now leads the pastry shop on Hylan Blvd; Fina spendsher spare time (she recently graduated in marketing) in the otherlarge shop on Staten Island, because she is very good with custo-mers and with training assistants. And the ‘little one’ (so to speak,given that he is 17 years old) of the family, Joseph, has just left forthe prestigious Culinary Institute of America (a university his brotherstudied at) and is quite happy to lend a hand in the laboratory, de-spite his football prowess.Settepani's pastry making combines Italian tradition with American(and a touch of French), a colourful mix of cultures lived and loved,which lead to an offering of cakes (from tiramisu to the keylime tartwith lime cream and pastry), cookies (from Lenten cookies to "diet"ones with chocolate and cherries), single portions, frozen desserts,muffins, jams, bakery products and savoury pastries. But it is themignons that best express this mix of cultures and techniques thatgo far beyond the Italy-USA tandem: about twenty mignons and fortysingle portions, numbers that make them unique in the area; the fa-vourite is the chocolate mousse.

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2011 - www.pasticceriainternazionale.com - n. 18 3

THE “SMALL” OF THE FAMILYSettepani's most recent brainchild, open a year ago, is the Pastic-ceria Bruno on Hylan Boulevard of Staten Island, now ably mana-ged by his son Salvatore and by chef and partner Franco Franzese.We had the pleasure to visit and enjoy the rich lunch menu, amonga crowd of customers, mostly women taking their breaks from localoffices and from the nearby hospital.In fact, in all family-run businesses lunches and dinners are an ex-cellent source of income and are appreciated not only for quality butalso for the abundance of food, all with a clear Italian influence ofcourse: fried calamari, mozzarella in carrozza, arancini, carpaccios,polenta, pasta of various sorts, salads, soups, meat and fish dishes,Tuscan piadine, pizzas, barbecue sandwiches, not to mention deli-cious desserts. Customer feedback is tangible and on weekends,especially in stores on Staten Island, there can be one-hour queuesto eat.Even at breakfast, rooms are crowded; there are simple and filledcroissants (almond, chocolate, cinnamon ... and salted), Danish,muffins, croissants with chocolate cream, as well as omelettes andsavory dishes, for the classic English breakfast; Sunday brunch alsoworks well. Eating on-site means customers can get to know thesweet offering, which boosts take-away sales. The offering includesvarious types of bread produced in the laboratory of Forest Avenueand obviously the super popular cupcake (see article in issue 229)made by the Settepanis in extra large formats: the favourite, knownas Red Velvet, sells 150 pieces per week.Services offered include catering (especially for private parties andlarge family dinners) and take away, with popular sauces, especiallythe tomato pesto. Lastly, there are several initiatives for customers,such as courses for pastry and bread making at the shop in HylanBlvd, on Sunday morning for 15 people for $95: chocolates for Va-lentine's Day, Easter specialties, Italian cookies, colourful cupcakes,ice cream, sorbets and granitas; carrot, nut and banana cake, lemonand blueberries; low-sugar treats, jams and jellies.This success is the result of hard work, credibility built over the years,and entrepreneurial flair, not only behind the scenes, but also interms of marketing and image. And should anyone ask how two sto-

res can co-exist so close together, Biagio specifies: "Some dine atHylan Blvd and then eat dessert at Forest Ave!".www.pasticceriabruno.com

A united family, three successful pastry shops, and industryesteem: how do you feel when you look back and take stockof the long road covered?

Above, the family group. From left: Joseph, Pina, Biagio, Fina and Salvatore.

On the left, the pastry shop in Forest Avenue; Hylan Boulevard to the right, working with Franco and Salvatore are 40 employees, spread over two shifts, from7 to 15.30 and from 15.30 to 22. Breakfasts, lunches and dinners are a great revenue for all the Settepani shops. At Hyland Blvd on Valentine's Day, forexample, there is an average of three rounds of sessions for the romantic dinner.

2011 - www.pasticceriainternazionale.com - n. 184

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When I think of this long journey, the strongest emotion is to seemy children involved in our business, happy to continue what Pinaand I have built.What does it mean to be an ambassador of Italian dessert inthe States, and to be an honorary member of AMPI?A lot, because it allows me to stay connected to my roots and tokeep up with the times and trends, building useful connections evenwith the best professionals in Italy and worldwide.To what extent do the Americans understand Italian tradition?I think there is great confusion when speaking of our Italian tradi-tions in the States: a large percentage of Italian pastry making hasnot kept up with the developments of the last 15 years. This meansItalian desserts are still considered to be tiramisu, cannoli, the cas-sata and panna cotta, all of which is in some way influenced byAmerican style.Let's talk about gelato: how do you make Americans under-stand the difference between ice cream and gelato? It is not easy to educate the customer with regards gelato, simply be-cause ice cream is all they know. I believe in tastings and custom les-sons, while trusting the work that Italian companies have been doingin these parts (Elenka, Fabbri 1905, Mec3, Pernigotti, PreGel ...).But it will still take some years before we see the results.What are the most popular flavours? The classics, from vanilla to chocolate, including hazelnut andstrawberry.And are granitas appreciated?Yes, especially lemon and coffee.

What advice would you give to a fellow who wants to drivesales at a time as difficult as this?I think the best advice is always not to choose short-cuts in order togive the customer the best quality at the most appropriate price.These are times when you have to keep the cost of ingredients undercontrol, carefully looking for the best deals, and minimizing waste.How has the clientele changed in New York in the last 10years?The general public has greater awareness regarding food, throughtravel, television, internet ... But it is also more health- and weight-conscious, and so spends and consumes less.The crisis can also be felt in your area. What are you doing toface it?Whenever you face any kind of crisis we must find ways to cut costsand reduce waste. We have also reduced the work week for emplo-yees to six days instead of seven, allowing us to contain wages.What is the ingredient that you love to work, and what inno-vative technology satisfies you the most?The ingredient is chocolate, while the equipment that I appreciatemost is the blast chiller, which allows us every day to speed up pro-duction without affecting quality.What will be the future of the industry, in your opinion?The format will change: family-run pastry shops will disappear anda wave of more modern stores is coming, with an offering thatgoes beyond confectionery, including sandwiches, salads, soupsand pizzas.

Livia Chiriotti

Doughflour g 1000

sugar g 100oil g 200

eggs g 200yeast g 80

Ricotta creamricotta g 1125sugar g 340

candied lemon g 100vanilla to taste

cinnamon oil to tastechocolate chips to taste

Cartocci

2011 - www.pasticceriainternazionale.com - n. 185

FABBRI

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RTY

cream g 725concentrated orange g 105

orange zest g 25vanilla bean no. 1

sugar g 140egg yolks g 215

gelatin sheets g 15water g 45

Cook at 83°C the cream with the orange concentrate, zest, sugar andvanilla with egg yolks; add the gelatin and put into moulds.

Orange scent Pistachio dacquoise

pistachio flour g 200almond flour g 100

icing sugar g 120flour g 48

sugar g 200egg whites g 360lemon zest no. 2

crushed pistachio kernels g 60toasted pistachios g 70

Beat the egg whites with sugar, add flour, powdered sugar and crushedpistachios. Slowly stir into the meringue, then arrange the toasted pi-stachios. Bake for 7 minutes at 165 °C.

Orange Chocolate Mousse35% mg cream g 250

orange puree g 250orange concentrate g 35

egg yolks g 250trimolina g 170

sugar g 10565% chocolate g 625

cream g 1220Heat cream, trimolina, puree and orange concentrate, the second creamand sugar. Pour the hot liquid over the yolks. Cook until the mixture be-comes thick, then stir in the chocolate pieces and mix well; allow to coolbefore adding the cream.

Vanilla and orange cremoso

Blood orange coulisblood orange puree g 240orange concentrate g 45

sugar g 45gelatin sheets g 8

water g 32Heat the puree with the concentrate and sugar, add the soaked gelatineleaves, then place in a mould.

Pistachio Macaroonalmond flour g 125

sugar x 6 g 225 egg whites g 100

sugar g 30powdered egg whites g 5

green and yellow colouring to tasteBeat the egg whites with sugar and egg white powder, sift togethersugar, powdered sugar and almond flour, place into the meringue. Workwell and shape the macaroons on Silpat. Bake at 160 °C for 10 minutes.

Orange caramel glazewater g 450sugar g 900

glucose g 900condensed milk g 600

cold water g 200gelatin powder g 40

orange colouring a. r.Heat water, sugar and glucose at about 105°C, deglaze with the con-densed milk, add gelatin and colouring.

Note cremoso stands for creamy or cremeux.

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2011 - www.pasticceriainternazionale.com - n. 18 7

CassataSponge

flour g 1000eggs g 1200

egg yolks g 200melted butter g 100

sugar g 700honey g 100

Ricotta creamsee Cartocci on page 4

Rum syrupwater g 1000sugar g 1150

glucose g 150rum g 300

Line a mould with pistachio marzipan, and distribute a thin layer of vanillasponge on the bottom soaked with rum syrup. Fill with ricotta cream,place another layer of sponge to close. Turn over, put a weight on top andfreeze. When ready to display, apply a thin layer of fondant and decoratewith fruit, as usual.

Biagio Settepani

www.pasticceriabruno.com

Photos Giancarlo Bononi