Almond delicacies at Pasticceria Mignon in Lecce

Together they are almost two centuries old, yet Matilde and Benito Pranzo when they put their hands inside the almond paste are two youngsters possessing the same enthusiasm that animated them 62 years ago when they opened Pasticceria Mignon behind the Villa Comunale in Lecce. Since then, the husband and wife have perfected their skills in making sugary delicacies that at first glance would appear to be savoury delights: scamorze, slices of grana cheese, ricotta, sausages, salami, tomatoes, fennel, figs, even mullet in their original colours peep out of the window as if it were the shop of a salumiere or fishmonger rather than the most exceptional and long-lived pastry chefs in Puglia. The Pranzo couple of course also excel in the more classic desserts, such as the pasticciotto and especially in their invention, those chocolate sibyls that Lecce children of all ages never stop coming to taste every day of the year.