As part of celebrations marking its 130th anniversary and 15 years as the Official Coffee of Wimbledon, Lavazza teamed up with world-renowned pastry chef Fabrizio Fiorani to craft a truly remarkable coffee pairing experience
Strawberries and cream have been a staple at Wimbledon since the tennis tournament’s inception in 1837, and attendees get through an astonishing 28,000kg of the fruit every year.
Ushering in a newer tradition, since 2010, Lavazza has been treating Wimbledon guests to a slice of Italian espresso heritage as the Official Coffee of The Championships. The iconic coffee roaster supplies more than 70 concessions across the grounds, with 600 baristas trained at the Lavazza Training Centre serving approximately 300,000 cups of coffee over the tournament.
To mark 15 years of Wimbledon tennis sponsorship, Lavazza has teamed up with world-renowned pastry chef Fabrizio Fiorani to craft an unforgettable culinary experience for hospitality guests at the tournament.
With this Championships-themed coffee pairing, guests are invited to explore Fiorani’s exquisite creations layered within a 3D-printed tennis ball made entirely from reusable and sustainable corn starch.
The unique and exclusive experience builds on Fiorani’s collaboration with Lavazza’s Tales of Italy collection, for which he developed a pastry and dessert range inspired by Italy’s espresso capitals: Rome, Milan, Venice and Naples.
Inside, the first section reveals a sublime combination of coffee cookie, chocolate and raspberry crème. Delving a little deeper, guests are treated to Fiorani’s very own homage to cookies and cream, with vanilla shortcrust encasing vanilla namelaka and a velvety strawberry gel.
Next up, it’s ‘game set and match’ with a set of 3D-printed milk chocolate tennis rackets before a final triumph of coffee crunch, hazelnut paste and milk chocolate. “It’s Piedmonte in one bite,” Fiorani tells World Coffee Portal.
As the youngest pastry chef to receive the ‘Best Pastry Chef in Asia’ accolade, Fiorani has earned international acclaim for his unique ability to balance innovation and tradition in his desserts.
However, Fiorani isn’t just a multi-award-winning pastry chef – he is a dreamer. “Coffee is always the beginning of something,” he says, describing his latest collaboration with Lavazza and the Tales of Italy Collection.
Despite the huge level of thought and detail that has gone into the unconventional coffee pairing, Fiorani never loses sight of his core mission to satisfy guests.
“We are making food to delight our customers. We can’t save the world with good food, but we can make it a better place,” he says.
