From the family pastry shop to the Dolcesalato Young Talents award
Ex allieva e Ambassador di CAST, Anna Magnati racconta come il percorso formativo nei corsi di alta pasticceria l’abbia trasformata in una professionista capace di coniugare tradizione pugliese, innovazione e grandi lievitati.
C’è un soprannome che racconta tutto di Anna Magnati, ‘Girasole‘. Così amava chiamarla suo nonno, come il fiore che ruota sempre verso la luce e non smette mai di cercarla. Difficile immaginare metafora più precisa per descrivere questa giovane pasticciera pugliese che, a pochi anni dalla fine del percorso da corsista e allievo ROPA presso CAST, è già stata riconosciuta tra i Giovani Talenti dei Grandi Lievitati da Dolcesalato, uno dei riferimenti più autorevoli del settore in Italia.
La storia di Anna non è quella lineare del talento precoce che sa subito cosa vuole. È piuttosto la storia di una vocazione conquistata lentamente, tra laboratori di biologia, test di medicina falliti e notti trascorse accanto al padre in laboratorio. Una storia fatta di deviazioni che, a guardarle in retrospettiva, sembrano scelte guidate dal destino. E al centro di tutto, c’è sempre stata la pasticceria di famiglia in Puglia e la figura silenziosa di un nonno che aveva già intuito tutto.
Oggi Anna lavora nel laboratorio di famiglia, Magnati Sunflower’s Bakery a San Paolo di Civitate (FG), studia i grandi lievitati con l’Accademia dei Maestri del Lievito Madre, ha firmato un dolce, il Girasole, dedicato proprio al nonno e ambisce a portare la pasticceria italiana sui mercati internazionali e affianca il M° Manuel Scarpa, tra i pasticcieri italiani più apprezzati per i suoi lievitati, in eventi e masterclass. Le abbiamo chiesto di raccontarci il suo percorso.
INTERVIEW
Anna, yours is not the classic story of someone who grows up dreaming of becoming a pastry chef. How did this passion begin?
I come from a family pastry shop in Puglia, so I grew up there, but my first ambition was to study medicine. After finishing scientific high school, I tried the entrance tests several times without success. During that in-between period, I enrolled in Biology and spent much more time in the lab with my father. And that’s where I fell in love. Not with the job itself—I already knew that—but with what was behind it. I started asking myself: what scientific foundations support what we do every day? From there, it felt natural to want to combine the knowledge my father had built over years of work with a more structured education.
How did you come to choose CAST for your Advanced Pastry Arts Program?
Through word of mouth. I started the Advanced Pastry Arts Program as a student in November 2022, and CAST immediately felt like home. Four intense months, extraordinary masters, colleagues who became friends. After the course, I did an internship at Valsecchi, then returned in September 2023 for the final exam: five stars, the highest grade. But I felt I wasn’t done. There was still something that kept drawing me back there.
And indeed, you later returned to CAST as a ROPA student. What did that experience mean compared to your time as a student?
It was a turning point. As a student, you experience training; as a ROPA student, you experience the institution. You see how a demonstration is organized, how logistics work, how a structure is managed. At first I was disoriented—the warehouse is huge, for example, I used to get lost in it like in a labyrinth—but within a month I adapted. I was able to work with important masters, follow advanced training, and take part in SIGEP. Every experience left something with me. Then I became head scholarship student with my colleague Elisabetta: it was like managing a small company. We had precise responsibilities in management and organization.
When you returned to Puglia, what did you bring back from your time at CAST?
It was a shock at first. I cried, because I felt like something was ending. But I also knew it was time to put everything I had learned into practice. The family laboratory is traditional, my father has worked this way forever, and at first it was hard to find my space. But little by little, I built a balance: I work in the lab, but I also have the freedom to study, attend courses, and gain experience elsewhere. I enrolled in the Academy of Master of Mother Yeast, and there I met another key mentor for me, Manuel Scarpa, with whom I currently collaborate for special events and “four-hands” masterclasses.
Why great leavened products? Why this specialization?
I like all pastry, but great leavened products hypnotize me: I could spend hours kneading. And there is a hidden world behind the final result—fermentations, sourdough, microbiology. Everything connects there: my scientific background, pastry, continuous research. There is always something to discover.
And then came “Girasole,” your lactose-free leavened product. Can you tell us its story?
It was born as a project within the “young leavened bakers” section of the Academy of Master of Mother Yeast, paired with a senior mentor: I chose Master Scarpa, my mentor. He is from Veneto, I am from Puglia: we decided to combine the two regions. I contributed my own Peranzana extra virgin olive oil—I produce it myself—and we created a completely lactose-free leavened product with candied apricots and Garda lemon aroma. Very light and soft: an unexpected result for a product made with EVO oil. The name “Girasole”? It’s what my grandfather used to call me, who passed away a few years ago. It was his nickname for me. It felt like the most fitting way to carry his memory into that product.
Being recognized by Dolcesalato as a Young Talent: is it a point of arrival or a starting point?
I still can’t believe it, I truly mean it. My father was there when I received the news, and for me that was the most beautiful part: seeing that sense of pride in the eyes of someone who has taught you everything in the deepest sense of the word. But yes, the award told me that I can build something. That I’m on the right path. More than a finishing point, I would say it’s a confirmation. And confirmation gives you the strength to keep studying.
You are also a CAST Ambassador. How do you feel about teaching students who are often your peers?
It’s not easy. I never feel like I’ve “arrived,” and when I stand in front of people my age, I have to take a deep breath. But once I start speaking, the insecurity fades. I experienced this during the demo I held at SIGEP in front of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Agriculture: I was extremely anxious, but once I began, I didn’t think about it anymore. I’m grateful to CAST for this opportunity. It’s another way of giving back.
Beyond technical skills, did CAST also provide you with tools on the entrepreneurial and managerial side of the profession?
Yes, and more than I expected. As a scholarship student, I was given precise responsibilities: classroom management, organizing materials, handling everything from A to Z. It was an intense period that helped me tremendously. Last year, for example, I managed the logistics of my pastry shop on my own for much of the time: that’s when I truly understood what it means to coordinate different activities simultaneously. Running a business is exactly that.
Among your future projects, there’s also the idea of bringing Italian pastry to international markets. How do you plan to build this path?
It’s still a dream in the drawer, I won’t deny it. It’s very difficult to achieve if you don’t already have solid visibility. But I’m working on it, taking steps to make it happen. My goal is to open my own business, launch a brand that carries Made in Italy—and specifically Apulian pastry—beyond national borders. I believe it will come naturally, step by step, if I keep building with method. This is the path.
A piece of advice for those considering a path in Advanced Pastry Arts Program, perhaps at CAST?
Passion and a hunger to learn. Never stop studying, because Italian pastry at this moment, in my opinion, is a bit stagnant—caught between tradition and innovation, with the same things being seen over and over on social media. There’s a need for people who can bring a new drive. And always ask questions, without being ashamed. There are no stupid questions. When I was a student at CAST, I was the one who never stopped raising my hand. A few days ago, I was attending a course—same thing, I kept asking questions. If you’re not passionate, this is just a job. If you are, it becomes your whole world.
Looking at Anna Magnati from the outside, what stands out is not the early recognition or the strength of her résumé, but the consistency of her method: study, ask questions, challenge yourself, and return to studying. The “Girasole” leavened product, with its Apulian extra virgin olive oil, candied apricots, and the memory of her grandfather, is not just a product. It is the synthesis of a journey: roots, education, encounters, and research. And the name is still there, as always, reminding her where she comes from—but also to keep looking toward the sun.
