Tommaso Foglia: “Preparing the desserts for Ida Di Filippo and Pietro Albano's wedding was a thrill.”

"For me, it was as if my sister had gotten married": Tommaso Foglia couldn't contain his emotion as he recounted the wedding of Ida Di Filippo and Pietro Albano. It was a highly anticipated day, and the pastry chef and Bake Off Italia judge couldn't help but attend in a dual capacity: as a dear friend of the beloved real estate agent from Home at First Sight (and her TV adventures on Crazy Sweets) and as the master pastry chef he is.

He was the one who curated the incredible dessert menu that concluded the couple's wedding reception at the Grand Hotel Europa Palace in Sorrento. A symbolic place for Ida Di Filippo, originally from Siano (Salerno), who has always said she wanted to return home to Campania to celebrate the most important "I do."

It was a dream, with her elegantly dressed in two different dresses—one in lace for the religious celebration and dinner, and the other in silk for the cake cutting—all her family and most special friends (including Casa a Prima Vista co-hosts Gianluca Torre and Mariana D'Amico), a seated dinner on the terrace with Vesuvius in the background, and desserts by Tommaso Foglia for a finale—literally—with special effects.

Tommaso Foglia's wedding cake for Ida Di Filippo

Foglia kept his promise: "To create unforgettable desserts, worthy of a special person like Ida." Starting with the wedding cake: 2.4 meters of elegance, decorated with every kind of technique, both freehand and with molds and stencils. "I wanted this cake to embody the art of pastry making," says the pastry chef, "by paying homage to an iconic location like Sorrento and, above all, fulfilling Ida's wish to celebrate with a timeless classic." But Tommaso also felt the thrill of seeing Ida's eyes light up: "When she and Pietro climbed the stairs to cut the cake, I was particularly moved. When you create such an important dessert for someone you love so much, it's inevitable."

But the cake was just the beginning. It was followed by a spectacular dessert buffet with 4,000 pieces of fresh pastries set out on a 16-meter table. "We used a bit of everything: from the babà Ida specifically requested to other iconic Campania pastry-making icons, like the lemon delizia her husband Pietro Albano requested. And, aside from a few specials, we mostly finished everything on the spot: from my puff pastry, which I really wanted to bring to Ida's party, to the tiramisu. Mariana D'Amico even filled one," Foglia says. Everyone loved it: "They told me they couldn't stop eating even though they were full. And, I must say, everyone was very satisfied."

Finally, the fireworks: a long lemon tart, flambéed on the spot, a spectacular sight and a feast for the eyes. It was the dessert that welcomed guests to the hotel dock, where the dancing portion of the reception took place. "It was very dramatic, and the lemon tart, flambéed on the spot, has a very unique flavor," says Foglia, finally taking a breather.

"I was really excited about this event because I'm very fond of Ida and we've been working on it for a long time. The most fun part was the planning: Ida and I drafted the desserts, and then my staff, as always, added their own. They added other ideas, but above all, enthusiasm, and that's wonderful because when you know you have a talented and motivated team behind you, you can push yourself to the next level. I brought all the staff from the laboratory and the Nola pastry shop with me to Sorrento. Then, the Europa Palace chef, Domenico Iavarone, and his staff were superb: that's not a given," says Tommaso Foglia.

In the meantime, he's thinking about his next desserts. First and foremost, the Bake Off technical test desserts, which he'll be offering week after week in his pastry shops in Milan and Nola (Naples), but not only that: Tommaso Foglia is about to publish a new book, due out at the end of September. As if that weren't enough, he's thinking about organizing evenings for us. "At the Nola pastry shop, I've launched a format called 'Dinners with Tommy's Friends,' involving chefs and pizza chefs like Fabrizio Mellino and Franco Pepe, as well as people from outside the industry. Yes, Ida will be there, but her appointment sold out immediately. So, let's focus on the second one."