The dessert came about by chance, but it became world famous: ‘…

Aldo Campiol died Saturday at the age of 93. The name of this Italian chef may not mean much to you, but the world-famous dessert invented by chance and first served at his restaurant in Treviso is undoubtedly the tiramisu.

The father of tiramisu. Aldo Campiol has earned this title since he first put the dessert on his menu in 1972 at his Le Beccherie in Treviso. It was the result of a mistake: his chef Roberto Linguanotto was making vanilla ice cream, but he accidentally dropped a spoonful of mascarpone into a bowl that already contained eggs and sugar. The mixture was so delicious that the cook, Campiol, and his wife Alba added lady fingers dipped in coffee and sprinkled with some cocoa powder. The resulting dessert is very popular all over the world.

Its name, tiramisu, literally means “pull me”. But more important is the figurative meaning: “raise me” or “make me happy,” just what a delicious dessert does.

They never patented it, and many chefs in recent decades have claimed to have invented tiramisu. But in the world of gastronomy, there is no doubt about it: Campiol is the “father of tiramisu”. Aldo Campiol was 93 years old.