“Choose the job you love and you won't work a single day in your life” they say, and the story of Flavia De Angelis and her local Italian Cupcakes is an example of tenacity in making dreams come true . He was born self-taught, but perfected himself at the Wilton school in Chicago to become a cake design consultant and teacher and TV face on the SKY channel with La Sposa TV (formerly Wedding TV) and Sugar Lab.
Such an enterprising woman that during the lockdown, while bread, pizza and focaccia were being baked, she finished her first book on the bakery and then published it in defiance of difficult times. Dynamism and research, two important aspects that prompted Flavia to include an Ice N Roll offer in the venue . And she did it with the originality that sets her apart.
Yours is a story marked by an important turning point, how was Italian Cupcakes born?
It was born from a passion because in reality my professional career before Italian Cupcakes was of a completely different type. I worked in tourism and in management secretariats, but at a certain point passion called me and it was when I was expecting my daughter in 2010. In that period I had the opportunity to cultivate and carry on the dream, and then specialize in cake design. I like to say that we don't choose our passions, but they choose us.
What path did you take to become a cake designer?
I started out self-taught, but immediately wanted to specialize. Then I traveled to the United States, where I attended the Wilton school in Chicago, and then met other cake designers such as Colette Peters, Alan Dunn, Carlos Lischetti, Evelyn Freshwater, Lindy Smith, Eddie Spence and Debbie Brown.
Your first recipe book, Italian Cupcakes, has just come out. The American recipe book made in Italy, how do you feel?
The book is a project I had been working on for a long time, but between pastry making, consultancy and cake design teaching it was difficult for me to complete it. The forced break that - alas - we had during the lockdown proved to be useful for concluding the project. The publisher and I believed in it a lot, despite the difficult time, and it went well. We put the volume on presale even before printing it during the quarantine, selling out. Now the book is printed and distributed, on Amazon it has also reached 31st place .
Yesterday there was the presentation in Bari, how did it go?
It was very emotional. The presentation went very well, I wanted to create a traveling format with show cooking because I didn't want to do a static event. The public was immediately passionate, so much so that some people asked to prepare some pastries with me.
A little while ago you mentioned the dreaded lockdown , how did you manage the closure of the club?
Clearly we closed when it was mandatory and necessary to do so, but as I said before I didn't sit idly by. Then we reopened with a series of restrictions, a bit slowly, but since June the activity has soared. Consider that I inaugurated Italian Cupcakes a week before the start of the lockdown, with great timing! However, although summer is a slower time for pastry shops, fortunately we have had two busy months.
For the summer you have also created an Ice N Roll station.
Certain! The venue's space is small, but they gave us the opportunity to set up the outside corner and set up a show cooking station on the street. People are very intrigued by Ice N Roll, they come to us with the intention of trying it.
Have you experimented with Ice N Roll flavors inspired by the bakery world?
Yes, and the best part is that the flavors are endless with Ice N Roll! We also give customers the opportunity to create new combinations starting from our pastry products. If we have made a cheesecake, for example, we can prepare an Ice N Roll by cutting a slice of the artisanal product and placing it on the plate. This is certainly the most innovative and attractive aspect for customers, because it allows you to make ice cream on the spot with genuine products.
What advantages does Ice N Roll offer you?
Processing times are exceptional. Italian Cupcakes doesn't have the equipment for the continuous preparation of the ice cream, so the cart with the plate that turns on and off in a few seconds is a unique advantage. Despite turning on and cooling the machine, the expense is really minimal, as is the food cost of the food preparation for the base of Ice N Roll. In this way, moreover, an ice cream is prepared on request without the risk of throwing redundancies, which is a pity. And then it is an extremely innovative product that intrigues and differentiates a place from the others.
Ritual question, what must a place have to be successful?
It must first of all have a great service. We at Italian Cupcakes offer a pastry that is different from the traditional one, but what makes the difference is the passion, the smile and the attention for the customer. And the desire to offer something new, trying to keep the public's interest high.
Low food cost, high originality: Ice N Roll is ideal for many types of business, from pastry shops as in the case of Italian Cupcakes to bars. Find out more about the versatility of Ice N Roll .