{"id":107440,"date":"2024-10-01T13:28:48","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T11:28:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kosovotwopointzero.com\/?p=107440"},"modified":"2024-10-07T11:58:53","modified_gmt":"2024-10-07T09:58:53","slug":"ignazios-spell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/en\/ignazios-spell\/","title":{"rendered":"Ignazio\u2019s spell"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"107440\" class=\"elementor elementor-107440\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-4ca9336 elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"4ca9336\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-background-overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div 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icl_lang_sel_native\">ENG<\/span><\/a>\n\n\t\t\t<ul class=\"wpml-ls-sub-menu\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"icl-sq wpml-ls-slot-shortcode_actions wpml-ls-item wpml-ls-item-sq wpml-ls-first-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\" class=\"wpml-ls-link\" target=\"_blank\">\n                            <span class=\"wpml-ls-native icl_lang_sel_native\" lang=\"sq\">SHQ<\/span><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"icl-sr wpml-ls-slot-shortcode_actions wpml-ls-item wpml-ls-item-sr wpml-ls-last-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/sr\/\" class=\"wpml-ls-link\" target=\"_blank\">\n                            <span class=\"wpml-ls-native icl_lang_sel_native\" lang=\"sr\">B\/C\/S<\/span><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\n\t\t<\/li>\n\n\t<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section 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class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-105962\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Trileqe_Tajvani_003.jpg 1620w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Trileqe_Tajvani_003-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Trileqe_Tajvani_003-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Trileqe_Tajvani_003-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Trileqe_Tajvani_003-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Trileqe_Tajvani_003-326x217.jpg 326w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Trileqe_Tajvani_003-450x300.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1620px) 100vw, 1620px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-56ec99f5 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"56ec99f5\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7c2480b0\" data-id=\"7c2480b0\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e9854d8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"e9854d8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Ignazio\u2019s spell\n<\/h1>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d000c6f elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"d000c6f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How a Latin American cake found its way to the Balkans and beyond.\n<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e355c20 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"e355c20\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d6bc2e3 elementor-shape-square e-grid-align-left elementor-grid-0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-social-icons\" data-id=\"d6bc2e3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"social-icons.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-social-icons-wrapper elementor-grid\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-grid-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-icon elementor-social-icon elementor-social-icon-facebook elementor-repeater-item-5e387e1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Kosovo2.0\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-screen-only\">Facebook<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"fab fa-facebook\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-grid-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-icon elementor-social-icon elementor-social-icon-twitter elementor-repeater-item-7ae3a81\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kosovo2point0\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-screen-only\">Twitter<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"fab fa-twitter\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-grid-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-icon elementor-social-icon elementor-social-icon-instagram elementor-repeater-item-8daffd8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/kosovo2point0\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-screen-only\">Instagram<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"fab fa-instagram\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2b12598 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2b12598\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\"><a href=\"https:\/\/kosovotwopointzero.com\/en\/author\/altinraxhimi\/\" style=\"border-bottom: 1.3px solid yellow;\" target=\"_blank\">By Altin Raxhimi <\/a>  | October 2, 2024\n<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f279681 elementor-widget-divider--view-line_text elementor-widget-divider--element-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"f279681\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-32b7a7a elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"32b7a7a\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7c090a9\" data-id=\"7c090a9\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-eedb83b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"eedb83b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first tres leches cake that I have been able to identify in Albania stopped at an Italian coastal town not far from the Slovenian border before landing in Tirana at the turn of the millennium.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Renata Casadei was a restaurant owner in Staranzano, around 30 kilometers northwest of Trieste, and her husband was Staranzano\u2019s cab driver. In a small town, your clients are your friends, and many of her husband\u2019s clients became hers, among them Dominican or Colombian sex workers. In the mid-90s, she visited their friend\u2019s family in the Dominican Republic and was treated to a portion of tres leches, \u201cthe country\u2019s national cake.\u201d She loved it, got the recipe and even tried it once or twice in her restaurant.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That cake reached us a few years later. In 2000, Casadei\u2019s son lost his life in a car accident; grief made her close the restaurant and a psychologist acquaintance advised her to get away for a while. At the time, Albania wasn\u2019t really your average Italian\u2019s idea of travel, but she ended up making herself busy there. One day in spring 2002, she prepared seafood risotto and turbot on alla graisana broth, her area\u2019s typical fish stock with vinegar and garlic, for a symposium of 15 local dignitaries and tastemakers that included Ismail Kadare, the worshiped novelist. \u201cNoblesse oblige, you know,\u201d she told me. The following day she started work as chief cook at Piazza, the top restaurant of the Albanian capital, right in the center behind the National History Museum.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-bc75926 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"bc75926\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-4d43b1b\" data-id=\"4d43b1b\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-799c1e6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"799c1e6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1103\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Untitled-1-2.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-107629\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Untitled-1-2.jpg 1103w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Untitled-1-2-300x209.jpg 300w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Untitled-1-2-1024x713.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Untitled-1-2-768x535.jpg 768w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Untitled-1-2-326x227.jpg 326w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1103px) 100vw, 1103px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">In spring 2002, Renata Casadei, a 55-year-old restaurateur from northern Italy, started work as chef at Tirana\u2019s central Piazza restaurant. She was well liked and highly appreciated, but she had to leave after two years, saying that \u201cotherwise, I\u2019d get divorced.\u201d Casadei was the first to introduce the pastel de tres leches in Albania. Photo courtesy of Casadei collaborator Artion Kurti. <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-b0578cf\" data-id=\"b0578cf\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9be1cfb elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9be1cfb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>She was known for her fresh pasta: her tortellini, tagliatelle or ravioli. She\u2019d make Lombard pizzoccheri for Tirana\u2019s\u00a0<i>nouveau riche<\/i>, whose journey to local prominence had begun as emigrants to northern Italy. When the U.S. ambassador to Tirana said her veal Orloff was the best he ever had, she saw how Ekrem, Piazza\u2019s owner, from the excitement became two meters tall from his normal one sixty. She expanded the fish and seafood menu (\u201cEkrem, we can\u2019t be offering meatballs all the time!\u201d) For dessert, she\u2019d often make strudels and Sachertorte of Viennese decadence.<\/p><p style=\"letter-spacing: -0.1px;\">One day, she tried her Dominican friend Lina\u2019s recipe. She battered the sponge cake flour for half an hour and placed the tray to bake. When she pulled it out of the oven, she poked the crusty top at several places with a fork. She drenched it in a three-milk mix \u2014 condensed, evaporated and cream \u2014 mounted a thick mass of whipped cream on it, topped the cream with berries and pineapple slices and served it cold from the refrigerator.<\/p><div>\u00a0<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-6945878 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"6945878\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-068997c\" data-id=\"068997c\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d8c9336 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d8c9336\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b style=\"letter-spacing: -0.1px;\">The processed milk dessert<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The use of baked dough to ferry juices to the palate is something primordial for humans. Before processed and packed baby foods and the pervasive advertising they came with, our mothers weaned us off with bread soaked in milk. Then, think of the butter on toast or the lump of bread that mops the plate. On the savory side, cooking stocks must have at least in part been invented for such uses, and fillings had made use of bread, say, in stuffing roasted turkey to preserve cooking juices. To the sweet tooth, there\u2019s the honey, the syrups and the spirits, in things like the Greek melomakaroni, the revanis of the Orient, or the zuppa inglese, which would then be topped with chantilly, custard, and additions like cocoa powder, jams, berries and whatnot.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-ff41a7a elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"ff41a7a\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-3a73c86\" data-id=\"3a73c86\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6ef6630 elementor-widget-divider--view-line_icon elementor-view-default elementor-widget-divider--element-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"6ef6630\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-icon elementor-divider__element\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fas fa-quote-left\"><\/i><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f120549 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f120549\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Before processed and packed baby foods and the pervasive advertising they came with, our mothers weaned us off with bread soaked in milk.<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-d6a5e94 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"d6a5e94\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-2af950f\" data-id=\"2af950f\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8ac01ee elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"8ac01ee\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One can imagine a timeline of when sponge cakes began to be drenched in milk. Though they were created around the 18th century, sponge cakes became popular in the West in the next one. There are accounts of a cake floating in flavored milk, called Isla flotante or Floating Island, from the Mexican state of Tabasco in the first half of the 20th century.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the use of three milks places the Latin American invention later than that, when processed milks become industrially available. Though the matter has not been reliably researched, it has been claimed that the tres leches cake followed milk-processing plants Nestl\u00e9 built in Latin America in the 1930s. According to that conjecture, someone would have come up with the idea in recipe contests Nestl\u00e9 called to promote its product. It would then be printed on cans, the same way Barilla boxes teach you how to make orecchiette with lemon and pistachio.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I have yet to see a tres leches recipe on mid-century Mexican condensed milk cans, nor have cuisine scholars I spoke with been able to find early references. Rachel Laudan, the prominent British food historian, says it must be linked to the affordability of kitchen ovens among Latin American middle classes, well after World War II. Indeed, there are accounts that it became widespread across Latin America only by the 1980s or 1990s, appearing in the U.S. areas with strong Latin American presence later in that decade. According to Laudan\u2019s entry in the Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, by the 2000s, it had been sighted in the rest of North America and western Europe.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This was the pool from which Casadei drew to make her three milks pastry in Albania in the spring of 2002, but her whipped cream-topped tres leches did not stick \u2014 the restaurant has been known mostly for its strudels \u2014 and she gave the Latin American cake little thought until we chatted about it on the phone last year.<\/span><\/p><p><b>The Tajvan trile\u00e7e<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tres leches made another apparition in Tirana three years after Casadei\u2019s, in a new restaurant one kilometer south of Piazza, also through Italian mediation.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tajvan was the popular informal name of a bar in the city\u2019s Rinia Park, which stood on a large green lawn off large Soviet-style apartment blocks across the street, the way Taiwan floats in the waters across the strait from mainland China.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Left to abandon after communism, it was taken over by a businessman who made his money in oil and invested it in prestige endeavors: football clubs, sports grounds and now, this. Austrian architects gave the rectangular building white arachnid leg-like buttresses and billiard-shaped, clown-colored columns. Italian-trained gardeners restored the hedgerows, added grass and flower beds and ornamental trees. Tajvan turned into a gambling, bowling and fine dining spot. It also had a popular terrace bar fronting a big fountain.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-4db2804 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"4db2804\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-838cf25\" data-id=\"838cf25\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-46b98f1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"46b98f1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1862\" height=\"1398\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-1-min.png\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-106123\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-1-min.png 1862w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-1-min-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-1-min-1024x769.png 1024w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-1-min-768x577.png 768w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-1-min-1536x1153.png 1536w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-1-min-326x245.png 326w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1862px) 100vw, 1862px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">An abandoned bar from communist times in Tirana\u2019s central Rinia Park, Tajvan was renovated in the mid-2000s, becoming a popular entertainment, restaurant and bar space. Photo: Altin Raxhimi. <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-ae4efe2 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"ae4efe2\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-21f167d\" data-id=\"21f167d\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-02812d1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"02812d1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The regular Italian chef, lured from a boutique eatery of Puglia, the south Italian region facing Albania, had quit when his salary was halved without notice, Tajvan staff said, and the management had now invited a 63-year-old man who said he hailed from Rome.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The staff liked Ignazio Piazza. He always wore his uniform, with its giant toque, but was approachable and good-humored. The two women on the staff would laugh heartily when he\u2019d call them Clara or Lidia, Italian names. \u201cEh, Majlinda,\u201d he\u2019d say. \u201cI keep mixing things up. Clara is my wife; Lidia is my girlfriend.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBut Ignazio, I wouldn\u2019t expect someone your age to talk about such things,\u201d Majlinda Selimi, a sous-chef, giggled.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He\u2019d give his office to workers to rest, the key to his apartment to aides to bring girlfriends in.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It struck them that he was curious and worldly, as Italian cooks tend to be local. He knew about Russian and Arab cooking. He\u2019d gesticulate with the owner of the French patisserie on the finer points of French cuisine. He always asked what people ate. In Tirana, he was told jokingly: \u201cBread on milk and toffee candies.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They were blown away by his stories: that he had run mess halls in cruise ships where he had met his tourist wife; that he had sold a catering business to Qantas, the Australian airline; that he had cooked for the president of China, in the princess of the Netherlands\u2019 wedding and at the wake for the founder of North Korea\u2019s communist dynasty, where he scared his interpreter to death by cursing the regime.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every day, he would propose dozens of concoctions and combinations: chocolate-glazed spark-dusted pears, the spectacle of slow-cooking calves in full display, whose cuts he\u2019d put on beds of honey mushroom cream. He employed a freezing process for the carbonara that saved time and intensified taste.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI learned the degrees and the nuances of cooking meat from him,\u201d Eno Joxhe, then a 16-year-old apprentice, told me.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cDidn\u2019t he have a Michelin star or something?\u201d Selimi asked me at one point.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-3884e5f elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"3884e5f\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-2bab81a\" data-id=\"2bab81a\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cfe79fb elementor-widget-divider--view-line_icon elementor-view-default elementor-widget-divider--element-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"cfe79fb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-icon elementor-divider__element\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fas fa-quote-left\"><\/i><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8df3d0d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"8df3d0d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">\u201cDidn\u2019t he have a Michelin star or something?\u201d<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-23aa09c elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"23aa09c\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-2f65988\" data-id=\"2f65988\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-84acb11 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"84acb11\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Late one sunny morning in April 2005, he had to make the day\u2019s lunchtime menu. Such crises had to be managed. Iganzio noticed a tray half full with sponge cake and asked about its use. \u201cFor the crostate,\u201d he was told. The fruit tarts that were his predecessor\u2019s legacy. Thin strips of the cake were placed crosswise into the tart base, which was then sprayed rum water and covered with jelly.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He took the sponge cake out of the tray and put a layer of heavy milk cream on before placing it back in. He then poured some diluted Nestl<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00e9<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> condensed milk, added glazing on top and placed it on the fridge.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pulling it out in half an hour, he said: \u201cThat\u2019s the trelece. That\u2019s what we used to make 45 years ago.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><b>From Tajvan to the mainland<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The topping Ignazio Piazza used was neither some fancy custard, nor exotic fruits, but a thin layer of liquefied caramel glazing from the can he found in the counter, the one that sometimes tops cheesecakes. He gave half of the two dozen portions he made to whoever was in the kitchen. The cake had turned into an off-white viscous mass from the milk, the liquid brown glazing almost dripping from the top edges. The cold mass tempered the aggression of the sugar\u2019s assault on the taste buds.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWell, this is heavenly!\u201d said Selimi.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-fb1ffa5 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"fb1ffa5\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-e0b54a9\" data-id=\"e0b54a9\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b5a6d95 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"b5a6d95\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1620\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Trileqe_Majlinda004.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-105947\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Trileqe_Majlinda004.jpg 1620w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Trileqe_Majlinda004-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Trileqe_Majlinda004-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Trileqe_Majlinda004-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Trileqe_Majlinda004-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Trileqe_Majlinda004-326x217.jpg 326w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Trileqe_Majlinda004-450x300.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1620px) 100vw, 1620px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Majlinda Selimi was working as a sous-chef at Tajvan when Ignazio Piazza made his first trelece in Albania. She was Tajvan\u2019s principal trile\u00e7e maker between 2008 and 2014, producing 1,000 portions for the 100th anniversary of Albania\u2019s independence on November 28, 2012. Photo: Atdhe Mulla \/ K2.0. <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-9c9b8cc elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"9c9b8cc\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-2df0c3c\" data-id=\"2df0c3c\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f324188 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f324188\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ignazio left Tajvan shortly later that year. For all his vaunted creativity, the job was demanding for a man his age, with hundreds of orders \u00e0 la carte every day. The kitchen area was too small and his physical limits showed. He battled diabetes and high blood pressure. Furthermore, he was now talking to his brother-in-law Rosario about bringing equipment from Italy for a pastry shop he would open in Tirana with Tajvan\u2019s gardener.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most of his creations struck the staff as too pricey or complicated, and the only thing that remained from his time was the trelece, by now spelled trile\u00e7e. It was a dessert that could be made quickly, freeing time for more complicated dishes. The women in the staff fell for it. At some point, regular milk was added.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-226ed2a elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"226ed2a\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-8814ba5\" data-id=\"8814ba5\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fdd55aa elementor-widget-divider--view-line_icon elementor-view-default elementor-widget-divider--element-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"fdd55aa\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-icon elementor-divider__element\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fas fa-quote-left\"><\/i><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5269b24 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"5269b24\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Most of his creations struck the staff as too pricey or complicated, and the only thing that remained from his time was the trelece, by now spelled trile\u00e7e.\n<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-1428e72 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"1428e72\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-d1c9882\" data-id=\"d1c9882\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6cb7d55 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6cb7d55\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When Ignazio left, Joxhe took over the desserts section. The location was a boon. It was popular with the city\u2019s elite and commoners alike, as well as with day tourists unloaded at lunchtime. Very soon, they were selling 300 portions a day.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Puglian chef who preceded Ignazio, eventually back with a reduced salary, would mutter to his subs: \u201cGo and make some of that guy\u2019s cake.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-a9f8f2a elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"a9f8f2a\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-46553ab\" data-id=\"46553ab\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7535093 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7535093\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the first year few people would ask for the recipe, and it was a somewhat guarded secret. Then, the word got out. Armond Kikino, the Tirana chef and food sleuth, for example, told me the shopping center where he worked at the time had gotten it from a Tajvan employee who moonlighted at its food court. By 2007, trile\u00e7e had spread like wildfire to bakeries, pastry shops and restaurants in Tirana and the rest of the country. Cost or availability made them try other milk combinations: sometimes two, either condensed and evaporated, or condensed and plain; sometimes all three; or just one. In most cases, the three-milk mix was simply poured from the top, instead of having the tray layered with heavy cream first. At times, Nestl\u00e9 was replaced with Panda, its Chinese counterpart. A fervent creative environment for a caramel-topped milk cake. Nothing was as good as the Tajvan one, though.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-f293761 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"f293761\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-8e5a6de\" data-id=\"8e5a6de\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-41fb9e0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"41fb9e0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>It was a matter of time before it would cross Albania\u2019s border.<\/p><p>A restaurant owner in western Kosovo told me he had to wait a week in the fall of 2006 to get the recipe from Joxhe, and other restaurateurs there acknowledged similar experiences. By 2008, trile\u00e7e had gone past the Ibar River into northern Kosovo and then onto Serbia, a Belgrade-based pastry maker originally from Kosovo, told me. A Tajvan employee claimed that he had sold the recipe for 500 euros to a pastry maker from North Macedonia.<\/p><p>The competence landed Joxhe a job with a large Albanian distributor of primary ingredients. Among his duties was popularizing trile\u00e7e to sell its components, teaching pastry makers from Albania, North Macedonia and Kosovo how to make it. In fact, he is considered the single main person responsible for spreading trile\u00e7e in the region.<\/p><p style=\"letter-spacing: -0.1px;\">But then, the population between the towns of Tetovo and Gostivar in North Macedonia, wherever they migrate they make pastry and run candy stores. They took trile\u00e7e to the Slovenian litoral, to Sarajevo\u2019s Ba\u0161\u010dar\u0161ija and to Zagreb mosque\u2019s mess hall. In a few years, the western Balkan patchwork was all covered.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-c17f2f7\" data-id=\"c17f2f7\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-defd87d elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"defd87d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1283\" height=\"1133\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-14-at-13.13.43.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-106094\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-14-at-13.13.43.jpeg 1283w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-14-at-13.13.43-300x265.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-14-at-13.13.43-1024x904.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-14-at-13.13.43-768x678.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-14-at-13.13.43-326x288.jpeg 326w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1283px) 100vw, 1283px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Trile\u00e7e\u2019s popularity is still beyond patissier Eno Joxhe, who as chief trainer for a food ingredients company, was perhaps the person most responsible for the cake\u2019s reach. \u201cCome to think of it, it\u2019s quite a mediocre cake,\u201d he told me. But then, he is not as surprised. \u201cWhat were Albanians brought up with?\u201d he asks himself. \u201cBread soaked in milk and toffee caramels. That\u2019s what trile\u00e7e is.\u201d Photo courtesy of Eno Joxhe.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-a298d5f elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"a298d5f\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-f847aa7\" data-id=\"f847aa7\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9e6ca58 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9e6ca58\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b style=\"letter-spacing: -0.1px;\">Latin incursion into the land of the Turks\u00a0<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for Turkey, trile\u00e7e would not become that big a phenomenon,\u201d Olsjon Bilani, who worked at Tajvan at the time and now runs his own deli in Tirana, told me. \u201cIt would have been confined in the Balkans. Turkey is a huge market.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the center of Tetovo, there\u2019s a venerable pastry shop called Amfora. The family who runs the shop learned making trile\u00e7e from a trainer from Albania in 2007. They were told it was an Argentinian cake wildly popular in Italy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In October 2008, relatives who operated a pastry shop in Istanbul visited the family, and by the end of that year, trile\u00e7e debuted in the working-class Fatih neighborhood on the city\u2019s European side. In a couple of years, it turned into a craze.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cCaramel flavor and milky dessert notes are a 100% match with the Turkish people\u2019s taste,\u201d Arda T\u00fcrkmen, the Istanbul celebrity chef, wrote me explaining its success. He once authored a newspaper column about Istanbul police stopping a BMW only to find its trunk jam-packed with trile\u00e7e trays.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-a8d56eb elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"a8d56eb\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-f4c50c6\" data-id=\"f4c50c6\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a338a7f elementor-widget-divider--view-line_icon elementor-view-default elementor-widget-divider--element-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"a338a7f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-icon elementor-divider__element\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fas fa-quote-left\"><\/i><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cc0d8f3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cc0d8f3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">He once authored a newspaper column about Istanbul police stopping a BMW only to find its trunk jam-packed with trile\u00e7e trays.\n<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-8c5a4eb elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"8c5a4eb\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-f7e5e0c\" data-id=\"f7e5e0c\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fefd850 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"fefd850\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Bursa, the Albanian-owned pastry shop in the town\u2019s central park had the family women make it at home and the men load the trays in vans and bring them to the shop. Other venues began making it too. It hit pricey restaurants, Cevat Ademi, an Istanbul-based journalist, recalls. Food bloggers and social networks helped spread it further.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2014 and in 2015, it was the most Googled recipe in the country. A local touch would be added. People tinkered with its thin coating: strawberry, lemon or other jellies, with mixed results. They reinterpreted the three-milk dictum: sheep, goat and cow; that didn\u2019t work. They would powder it lightly with a pinch or two of pistachio powder, as was often done with baklava or kadaif. As in other cake coatings, they would line the dark brown caramel topping with parallel stripes of white cream, then pass a dull knife across, turning the white stripes into wavy arabesques.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dr. Oetker, the German bran and oatmeal giant, sought to capitalize on it the way Danone did in the West with its adulterated yogurt. From factories near Izmir, it <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mDYsjWFdmbA\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">packs<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the ingredients for sponge cakes, milk and caramel into pouches for supermarket shelves. Such packages rolled the trile\u00e7e back to specialty food marts in the Balkans, Western Europe and the Americas. Other Turkish primary ingredient producers followed suit.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-d405960 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"d405960\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-a6293cb\" data-id=\"a6293cb\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c981fb7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"c981fb7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_4385-min-scaled.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-106109\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_4385-min-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_4385-min-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_4385-min-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_4385-min-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_4385-min-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_4385-min-326x435.jpg 326w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">In Kosovo, trile\u00e7e became just as popular, if not more, as in Albania, but with a twist. It is spelled with a q, trileqe, a form that has spilled over to Slavic languages across former Yugoslavia as trile\u0107e. Photo: Nicholas Kulawiak \/ K2.0. <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-9118a1d\" data-id=\"9118a1d\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8dee3b0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"8dee3b0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>For many, business went well. The trile\u00e7e\u2019s success helped the S\u00fct\u00e7\u00fco\u011fullar\u0131s, a family-run patisserie in Istanbul, move to a more upscale neighborhood. The name became a brand. There is a Tritat Trile\u00e7e pastry shop in Bursa and a Miss Trile\u00e7e one in Ankara. A wholesaler is named Trile\u00e7e Dunyasi, the World of Trile\u00e7e. A Master Chef show\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kLpo5lLsR0U\" target=\"_blank\">pitted<\/a>\u00a0contestants making trile\u00e7e against one another, and there were media stories of people who were trile\u00e7e fanatics.<\/p><p>Ubiquity made one feel it had\u00a0been there forever. In a recent\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt9657910\/plotsummary\/?ref_=tt_ov_pl\" target=\"_blank\">movie<\/a>, migrants from Yugoslav Macedonia to Istanbul owned a cake counter named Trile\u00e7e in the 1950s, half a century before the term was even coined.<\/p><p>Among some Turks, it provoked soul-searching: what could happen now to national points of honor like baklava, kazan dibi, or kadaif? Rifat S\u00fct\u00e7\u00fco\u011fullar\u0131, the p\u00e2tissier, sought advice. \u201cDon\u2019t worry Rifat,\u201d his mentor told him. \u201cIt\u2019s just a fad. Baklava will always remain the baklava!\u201d In fact, the craze for caramel-glazed tres leches has abated after a peak in the mid-2010s. By 2016, the Turks had moved on to the charms of the San Sebastian cheesecake.\u00a0<\/p><p>Still, trile\u00e7e has withstood the test of time. I found it in most of the pastry counters I saw in Istanbul this spring, and it still commands dedicated TV shows. Back in Tirana, Selimi sold a record 1,000 portions for Tajvan on the 100-year anniversary of Albania\u2019s independence in 2012. The internet is inundated with trile\u00e7e recipes not only in all the Balkan languages, but also in quite a few global ones (I\u2019ve seen it even in Farsi!).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-1ba77ae elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"1ba77ae\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-0db00c8\" data-id=\"0db00c8\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3f0f445 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3f0f445\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even the story T\u00fcrkmen, the Istanbul chef, was told by his gym buddy, that trile\u00e7e had been reverse-engineered in the 1990s by an Albanian population glued to Latin American soap operas, even that story was ultimately a measure of its popularity. This theory made it to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.atlasobscura.com\/articles\/how-a-south-american-soap-opera-created-a-turkish-dessert-craze\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Atlas Obscura<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the U.S. magazine of refined trivial pursuits, and was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tres_leches_cake#cite_ref-24\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">added<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to the English-language Wikipedia page for \u201cTres leches cake.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All this had been lost to Ignazio Piazza, whose Dolce Italia pastry shop in Tirana did not survive a full season before shutting down in 2006, and whose equipment, which he valued at 100,000 euros, he now claimed back from his Albanian partner, in kind or in cash.<\/span><\/p><p><b>Ignazio\u2019s trile\u00e7e<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the caramel-topped, milk-drenched sponge cake, trile\u00e7e was no Albanian ingenuity, no matter what people say, Loran Lami, a chef who was a busboy at Tajvan at the time, told me. \u201cThat trile\u00e7e is Ignazio\u2019s trile\u00e7e.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ignazio became aware of his simple invention\u2019s Albanian success on his fourth or fifth visit to Tirana. His business partner would not return the pastry-making kit to him, nor would he pay for it, saying its value was inflated and was needed to cover the shop\u2019s losses anyway.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ignazio threatened to sue, saying he\u2019d use the influence of a son-in-law who was a supreme court judge in Italy. But he<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">scared nobody. And as he was mulling his position at a Tirana bar, he was treated with a trile\u00e7e portion. \u201cThe one you made at Tajvan,\u201d he was told. He just smirked. He eventually gave up the hope he\u2019d get anything back from the failed pastry shop and stopped coming.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A few years earlier, when his son Simone had proposed to follow in his footsteps and attend a catering school, Ignazio slapped him. \u201cYou will not have this shitty life,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ignazio was born during World War II in a two-room house in the poor Santa Caterina quarter of Sciacca, a small Sicilian fishing port facing Tunisia. In a town where everyone had a moniker, the Piazzas of the Santa Caterina were the Culutunnus, the Roundbutts. He was the fifth child of the neighborhood\u2019s baker, who went on by the name of Cincuranedda \u2014 Fivedimeloaf \u2014 and a livestock trader father.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At five, his father sent him to herd goats in the mountains; at six he climbed a box to reach the espresso machine lever and make coffee at neighbor Paolo Bentivegna\u2019s restaurant in the town center.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Da Paolo, which was known for its pasta <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">alla mafiosa<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with anchovies, capers and olives, he washed dishes and made tables and cleaned, a jolly tuttofare, jack-of-all-trades, his childhood friend Taddeo Scalici told me. He learned his work ethics there. When he ditched work one morning to spend the day with other kids at the beach, his father whacked him that evening, because the family needed the money. Paolo the restaurant owner whacked him the next morning, because he was left short of helping hands. As a result, \u201ccooking became his obsession,\u201d Scalici said. \u201cHe was self-made, but he learned quickly.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By the time a cult Italian <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=C4ewf_wNEI4\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">comedy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was shot in Sciacca in 1963, Ignazio said he served the film crew at his own restaurant, Il Carretto \u2014 the Pushcart \u2014 which he had owned since turning 18. Much of the money he made at the restaurant he\u2019d spend on trips to Rome and women. True to many travelers, cooks and other seducers, he\u2019d spice up his stories. \u201cDad traveled a lot with his mind,\u201d his daughter Stefania told me.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Soon after, he left Sciacca to join a small and recently formed community of his townspeople in Aprilia, a town 40 kilometers south of Rome, on the edge of a large marshland reclaimed in the 1930s by north Italian workers brought south by Mussolini. There, he won over a French-speaking hairdresser, a Sicilian settler recently <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/cris.unibo.it\/handle\/11585\/829913#:~:text=By%20the%20late%201920s%2C%20nearly,government%20expelled%20those%20Italian%20immigrants.\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">driven<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> out of Tunisia. After a couple of years of renting an apartment in central Aprilia, they bought a plot out of town to build their single-story house.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He worked all sorts of odd jobs: cooking in restaurants in the Alban hills surrounding Rome and in tourist hotels on the Tyrrhenian coast, he ran the mess hall of a tractor-making plant. He had an eye for detail: in a beach restaurant, he would offer French beachgoers a full-course meal in French flag colors.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He also responded quickly to challenges, once making two dozen late-coming German diners happy with leftovers from the closed kitchen, including potato and carrot rinds.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHe was \u2018zero-waste cooking\u2019 before there was zero-waste cooking,\u201d Ettore Introcaso, a friend and apprentice, told me.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All the family worked at home as they tried to raise a catering business, and later, he built a 1,500-square-meter shed next to the house for that purpose. He\u2019d make ice cream cones for bars in Latina or sandwiches for a six-month contract with Alitalia, the now-defunct Italian airline.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-1713d9f elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"1713d9f\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-b5f41e9\" data-id=\"b5f41e9\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cde2436 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"cde2436\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1919\" height=\"1009\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-01-131525.png\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-107488\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-01-131525.png 1919w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-01-131525-300x158.png 300w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-01-131525-1024x538.png 1024w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-01-131525-768x404.png 768w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-01-131525-1536x808.png 1536w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-01-131525-326x171.png 326w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1919px) 100vw, 1919px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Screenshot from Google Maps of Ignazio\u2019s home. <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-4067d8c elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"4067d8c\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-b33fc32\" data-id=\"b33fc32\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b93abe9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b93abe9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At home, he was a Padre Padrone, (<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cgrumbling about my lasagna even when I followed his instructions to the point,\u201d his daughter Sabrina said. Simone: \u201cI\u2019d put my earring on the day he\u2019d leave abroad!\u201d), just as he was outgoing and generous outside. He surprised his family when he invited the local priest for long lunches (\u201cBut dad! What do you talk to him about if you keep swearing all the time?\u201d \u201cWhy, do I?\u201d). They also felt he could be gullible. He complained often of not being paid dues, whether from intermediaries in the Alitalia contracts, or in lease money. His children often mentioned how difficult life was keeping the business together in that plot in the town\u2019s outskirts.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They often had their moments, he and his wife Clara \u2014 personality clashes, exhaustion from work, or else \u2014 but when his van, due to transport a catering order, failed to move one morning, he began whimpering for emotional support: \u201cBut Clara! Clara! This is not starting! What do I do?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hard work and contacts made him well-known in the area. He led juries of Aprilia\u2019s ethnic food fests and evaluated culinary school graduates. His wife\u2019s Tunisian roots and his own background earned him a first prize in an international competition in Sicily in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/couscousfest.it\/en\/couscous-world-championship\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2002<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In the Guardian, food writer Claudia Roden extolled his team\u2019s fish and crab couscous served on a parmigiano tray, an accolade as good as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/books\/2003\/jan\/19\/shopping.foodanddrink1\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">any<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: \u201cThe Italian team won. Theirs was sublime.\u201d He traveled to Russia and Romania to promote Italian cuisine, to Riyadh or Seoul to set up restaurant kitchens.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-4360027 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"4360027\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-2af9795\" data-id=\"2af9795\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5c25226 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"5c25226\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1200\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/29196545_10155390609353404_2393987471978266624_n.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-106100\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/29196545_10155390609353404_2393987471978266624_n.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/29196545_10155390609353404_2393987471978266624_n-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/29196545_10155390609353404_2393987471978266624_n-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/29196545_10155390609353404_2393987471978266624_n-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/29196545_10155390609353404_2393987471978266624_n-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/29196545_10155390609353404_2393987471978266624_n-326x326.jpg 326w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/29196545_10155390609353404_2393987471978266624_n-115x115.jpg 115w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">In September 2002, Piazza was part of a team that won an international cous-cous competition in San Vito Lo Capo, a resort village in Sicily. He had suggested serving the cusc\u00f9su, the traditional Sicilian seafood cous-cous they made, in a basket of molded parmigiano. Photo courtesy of CousCousFest.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-81e0616\" data-id=\"81e0616\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-45c6d35 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"45c6d35\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He weaved stories around such travels. They had begged him to stay in Moscow, all expenses included, but he had to refuse. Neighbors asked the children about Ignazio\u2019s bar in Tenerife, which didn\u2019t exist. He learned to treat people well after the staff revolt at a luxury resort in Costa Rica, run by someone from Velletri near Aprilia, forcing him to cook a large dinner with very few hands.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We don\u2019t know with certainty where and how Ignazio ran into a pastel de tres leches for the first time. None of the friends or colleagues I spoke to seem to have any idea. He might have learned it anywhere, through his curiosity or professional network, his friend Taddeo Scalici surmises. It might have come from the week or so he spent visiting Scalici in South Florida in 2000. The cake had been introduced in Miami by a Nicaraguan community assembled there after the fall of the U.S.-supported regime of Anastasio Somoza. I\u2019ve seen press reports that credit Somoza\u2019s nephews with introducing the tres leches there. But Ignazio\u2019s family believes it was in Jaco, the Costa Rican town on the Pacific coast, where he spent six months in the mid-1990s setting up the kitchen of that resort, where he must have gotten wind of it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-a55c3ef elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"a55c3ef\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-e56eddb\" data-id=\"e56eddb\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-51c23e2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"51c23e2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b>The aftermath<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAre you really sure all this came from my dad?\u201d Simone Piazza asked me one day.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At this stage of my research, Simone\u2019s question meant whether it was Ignazio\u2019s quick fix during a six-week spell at Tajvan in Tirana \u2014 adding two milk concentrates to sponge cake, topping that with liquid caramel and calling it an Italianized form of the tres leches, taking the esses out of Spanish nouns and numerals \u2014 that caused a regional culinary phenomenon. Whether it was his concoction that made someone in Croatia and another in Turkey try to patent it for royalties. Whether it had ultimately made a pastry shop in Istanbul\u2019s Fatih neighborhood threaten legal action against their Alibeyk\u00f6y relatives, asking their due cut as the original makers (\u201chad he known things reached this point, he would have called the lawyers too,\u201d his daughter Sabrina said). That there are <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=FZhFshfK0pI\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">turbo-folk<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=F8h1OXDXTvw\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hip hop<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XBFQpN_GH-c\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">electronica<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> trile\u00e7e songs in Albanian, plus a Turkish <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=n16XPxCVD10\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">one<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, accumulating zillions of views. That the turbo-folk singer had whined in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/infosot.com\/kercenohet-dhe-ofendohet-fjolla-morina-video\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">press<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> about the glitzy electronica beauty. That in those distant lands, trile\u00e7e is both a staple desert for fast-breaking Ramadan dinners and an argot word for sexual <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3laD0HPX2WU\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">threesomes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That in its short lifespan trile\u00e7e gave rise to hallucinating inception myths. Post-war Sicilian staple treat. An archaic recipe by Balkan housewives! Conceived in Medieval Muslim Spain, then passed on to this side of the Mediterranean by Jewish refugees driven out of Iberia after the 15th century Catholic Reconquista! Telenovelas!<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Which is how I ended up writing this.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Atlas Obscura article had bemused me but I did not give it much thought. Then, three years ago, I found myself lamenting the sorry state of Albania with Kikino, the Tirana chef. A country where genuine value is never appreciated and sabotage is the norm; where you can\u2019t make out whether that brinkmanship is due to congenital venom, congenital ignorance or both.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAnd can you believe it?\u201d Kikino upped the conversation one notch. \u201cThey call trile\u00e7e pure Albanian cuisine now!\u201d In fact, at the height of the trile\u00e7e craze, in the mid-2010s, tourist authorities fronted with trile\u00e7e trays the Albanian food stand at an international fair in Milan, angering authenticity vigilantes.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-9b63e0b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"9b63e0b\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-91b7eb3\" data-id=\"91b7eb3\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2e2ff04 elementor-widget-divider--view-line_icon elementor-view-default elementor-widget-divider--element-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"2e2ff04\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-icon elementor-divider__element\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fas fa-quote-left\"><\/i><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f4c3549 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f4c3549\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">\u201cAnd can you believe it?\u201d Kikino upped the conversation one notch. \u201cThey call trile\u00e7e pure Albanian cuisine now!\u201d<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-1ddf38c elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"1ddf38c\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-1caddf1\" data-id=\"1caddf1\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-04fbf80 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"04fbf80\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cGet out of here!\u201d I said. So, it had not come from \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0199197\/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Celeste<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,\u201d that Argentinian <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0199197\/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">series<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that had glued Albanian housewives to TV screens in the 1990s?!\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNo. This Italian chef at Tajvan came up with it,\u201d Kikino replied.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Engaging outlandish myths of origin \u2014 in a region studded with them \u2014 with one or two sober facts promises interesting copy, so I cross-checked his claim with my own sources at Tajvan. \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t believe what we kept hearing,\u201d Altin Gjini, the Tajvan provisioner who witnessed Ignazio put that first tray of caramel-topped trelece in the fridge, told me.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hearsay was unrelenting during my research too. In the Istanbul neighborhood of Galata I was told about the mid-century trile\u00e7e of Mado, a local pastry chain, but at Mado they told me they get it from wholesalers. \u201cI ate three pieces of Turkish Bosnian Trilecha milk cake,\u201d a newspaper writer said. \u201cA fabulous taste, like the beauty of Turkey and Bosnia.\u201d<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A connection to koh, a milk-soaked cake of Vojvodina, has been suggested, but impenetrable Dark Ages separate the two products. Some Tetovo Albanians claimed trile\u00e7e came from the furuldak, furuldak being a local Turkish word for the revani, the sherbet sponge cake.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No milk!<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-b8962b7 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"b8962b7\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-5ea5d5c\" data-id=\"5ea5d5c\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d499aa6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"d499aa6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1916\" height=\"1313\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-21-at-14.03.24-3.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-107661\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-21-at-14.03.24-3.jpeg 1916w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-21-at-14.03.24-3-300x206.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-21-at-14.03.24-3-1024x702.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-21-at-14.03.24-3-768x526.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-21-at-14.03.24-3-1536x1053.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-21-at-14.03.24-3-326x223.jpeg 326w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1916px) 100vw, 1916px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">If this article will have its way, as creator of the Trile\u00e7e, Ignazio Piazza will join notables like Anthony Fauci of the Covid pandemic fame and singer Jon Bon Jovi in the Sciacca Hall of Fame. Photo of courtesy of Simone Piazza.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-0fe6ddb elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"0fe6ddb\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-415cc4b\" data-id=\"415cc4b\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-99ad43a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"99ad43a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The earliest online trile\u00e7e mentions I could track down were of December 2009 in Albania and 2012 in Turkey, which matched the timeframe that concerned me. Many sources I saw touched on hazy Albanian-Italian-Latin American provenance, and a number corroborated the Tajvan story.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHow to put it?!\u201d I responded to Simone, Ignazio\u2019s son. \u201c99% sure, if not fully sure.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cRight,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, it must be true.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One Saturday this June, Simone drove a party of us to where the family had once lived and worked. Like the rest of the towns founded in the 1930s on former Pontine marshland southwest of Rome, Aprilia is period architecture drenched in Mediterranean sun:<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">low-rise apartment blocks with spacious balconies and terracotta-brick fa\u00e7ades pop up among lines of plastered homes with shuttered windows along the odd palm or cypress or medlar.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The compound lies about five kilometers east of the town\u2019s center. The shingle on the entrance to the shed that carried the name of the business Ignazio ran, Pontina Catering, has paled. Last Christmas, burglars, who Simone says must have known the place was vacated, stole the refrigerators from the freezing rooms. Still, a couple of pizza ovens remained, the pasta-making machine and right in the middle, the conveyor belt where the family must have rolled once the Alitalia lunch sandwiches.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI\u2019m having palpitations,\u201d Ignazio\u2019s widow Clara said. \u201cWe spent a lifetime here.\u201d She has rarely visited since her husband succumbed to a triple stroke in November 2021. The property is for sale.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-8cbad0b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"8cbad0b\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-3581f1e\" data-id=\"3581f1e\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2a60892 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"2a60892\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"2560\" height=\"1922\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_20240622_160332-scaled.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-106103\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_20240622_160332-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_20240622_160332-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_20240622_160332-1024x769.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_20240622_160332-768x577.jpg 768w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_20240622_160332-1536x1153.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_20240622_160332-2048x1538.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_20240622_160332-326x245.jpg 326w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Clara Piazza with two of her grandchildren on the conveyor machine at the compound of the now abandoned catering business. It felt like the end of a chapter in the life of a family that settled in the area 60 years ago. Photo: Altin Raxhimi. <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-5163f30 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"5163f30\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-77134b7\" data-id=\"77134b7\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dd0efff elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"dd0efff\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Simone lifted the shutters from the ocher-painted one-story house and in the small lobby one could see a couple of cupboards. Some framed paintings leant on them on the floor. A prayer leaf on the door handle. Above the door frame, Our Lady of Good Help, which Sciacca venerates every August 15 for the Assumption of Mary.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On plastered walls with patches of mold, a Piazza coat of arms. Professional acknowledgment certificates from the Italian Federation of Chefs, the one that had brought him to Tirana in 2005, and a bird\u2019s view photo of the mass of kitchen dervishes who received the certificate that session. A pasta dish Ignazio created, tonnarelli all\u2019Apriliana, with seafood, seafood stock and arugula, Aprilia authorities certifying its origin. A newspaper clip from the 2004 Denmark trip \u2014 he\u2019d been so excited to go to that one, inaugurating a new Alitalia connection with Copenhagen and promoting tourism on Latina\u2019s coast, that he offered the cooking squad he led a glass of champagne before boarding; while preparing the dinner for 400 at the Danish Royal Hunting Lodge, he told them nobody should salt the dishes but him. There, in fact, the big Italian cake had liquified caramel on the whipped cream topping, Introcaso, the chef, recalled.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-b36d54a elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"b36d54a\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-a3c9005\" data-id=\"a3c9005\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e70b55e elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"e70b55e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"2560\" height=\"1922\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_20240622_160809-scaled.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-106091\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_20240622_160809-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_20240622_160809-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_20240622_160809-1024x769.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_20240622_160809-768x577.jpg 768w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_20240622_160809-1536x1153.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_20240622_160809-2048x1538.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_20240622_160809-326x245.jpg 326w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">A full-course menu from a charity event hanging on the wall in the saloon of Ignazio Piazza\u2019s home in Aprilia, Italy. Piazza organized galas for the local association of parents of disabled children, assembling colleagues and apprentices to help him make intricate meals in carefully set tables for the town\u2019s elite. \u201cHe\u2019d not forget to put red roses next to the plates of the ladies present,\u201d Armando Tallarico, the association\u2019s chairman, said. Photo: Altin Raxhimi. <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-6727e8b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"6727e8b\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-13aaedb\" data-id=\"13aaedb\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1ed410d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1ed410d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In his last years at his Aprilia home, he would watch cooking shows obsessively on TV. On his Facebook page, he put his picture with the huge toque, introducing \u201cLo scef Ignazio Piazza.\u201d He would call his friend Scalici in Florida for old age banter and to complain of his declining health. He could hardly move without a cane, constantly wheezing, and used the time to open up more to his family.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-dac9cbf elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"dac9cbf\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-e357660\" data-id=\"e357660\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3f66ca0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"3f66ca0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;motion_fx_motion_fx_scrolling&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;motion_fx_devices&quot;:[&quot;desktop&quot;,&quot;tablet&quot;,&quot;mobile&quot;]}\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1495\" height=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-21-at-13.54.41.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-106097\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-21-at-13.54.41.jpeg 1495w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-21-at-13.54.41-219x300.jpeg 219w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-21-at-13.54.41-748x1024.jpeg 748w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-21-at-13.54.41-768x1052.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-21-at-13.54.41-1121x1536.jpeg 1121w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-21-at-13.54.41-326x447.jpeg 326w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1495px) 100vw, 1495px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">In the late 2000s, Ignazio Piazza made an attempt to make trile\u00e7e popular even in his corner of Italy, producing  promotional cards, but the product never really took off. Photo of courtesy of Simone Piazza.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-ace9100\" data-id=\"ace9100\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-324241e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"324241e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In a rhyming twist, the Costa Rican restaurant where the family thinks Ignazio Piazza got wind of the tres leches found itself four years ago in the middle of an alleged cocaine\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.interpol.int\/en\/News-and-Events\/News\/2020\/Fugitives-arrested-in-I-CAN-global-anti-mafia-operation\" target=\"_blank\">ring<\/a>\u00a0involving Albanian, Calabrian and Latin American suspects. For the trile\u00e7e to propagate, Balkan confettieri syndicates took over a popular Latin American cake fixed by a Sicilian chef. Such migrant networks give it a global reach: it pops up in Albanian-run Italian restaurants in French hamlets with names like La Chapelle-aux-Pots, in Kosovar caf\u00e9s in Southsea or London,\u00a0in Godfather-themed Serb-run\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pizzapadrinos.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">pizza parlors<\/a>\u00a0in American suburbia\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/order.toasttab.com\/online\/padrinos-pizza-online\" target=\"_blank\">strip<\/a>\u00a0malls, in the Turkish\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ottawa.sultanahmet.ca\/trilece-the-layers-of-bliss\/\" target=\"_blank\">d\u00f6ner<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.meatpoint.ca\/menu\/\" target=\"_blank\">joints<\/a>\u00a0of Canada, spilling over to Syrian baklava and kunefe\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C3x23nLLwQN\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\">counters<\/a>\u00a0there, you find it in Doha and in Dubai.<\/p><p>In his last years at his Aprilia home, he would watch cooking shows obsessively on TV. On his Facebook page, he put his picture with the huge toque, introducing \u201cLo scef Ignazio Piazza.\u201d He would call his friend Scalici in Florida for old age banter and to complain of his declining health. He could hardly move without a cane, constantly wheezing, and used the time to open up more to his family.<\/p><p>From the trove they found in the hall \u2014 yellowing paperwork, disused gadgets and tools, photo albums \u2014 Simone\u2019s children picked Ignazio\u2019s Canon camera and were playing with it on the floor. In that trove the family found recently a mysterious flyer for Pontinia Catering&#8217;s confectionery specialty, the trelece, which Ignazio had ordered years after its success in Tirana. Something he did not really make in Aprilia, they said.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-7ec3b57 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"7ec3b57\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-080b76b\" data-id=\"080b76b\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-77cb5c8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"77cb5c8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"letter-spacing: -0.1px;\">In fact, in this place, Ignazio had told his eldest granddaughter Alice about the sweet he once made in a country called Albania, so popular they served a portion to visiting Pope Francis in 2014.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOf course you did, grandpa,\u201d Alice had responded.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At that moment, Ignazio could have been anyone. Who we are is one thing, what we claim to be another and neither may apply to what others make of us. Ignazio would always be Alice\u2019s granddad, and now, she wants to bring the family to Tajvan to try the trile\u00e7e. But at the time, given his predilection for exotic yarns, to her he might have as well claimed he had stabbed the moon with a space rocket.<br \/><br \/><\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The research about postwar Sciacca and Sicily and Ignazio Piazza\u2019s upbringing there has been generously shared by Dr. Antonino Sandullo.<\/span><\/i><\/p><p><i><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Feature Image: Atdhe Mulla \/ K2.0.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-7f6e6a2 elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"7f6e6a2\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-463b926\" data-id=\"463b926\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ac4c052 elementor-widget-divider--view-line_icon elementor-view-default elementor-widget-divider--element-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"ac4c052\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-icon elementor-divider__element\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\" 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c7.2-0.2,11.6,3.2,13.9,11c3.1,10.2,2,20.8,2.4,31.2c0.1,2.2-1.1,2.4-2.8,2.4C523.9,335.6,519.6,335.6,515.2,335.6z\"><\/path><\/g><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-1117adc elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"1117adc\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-ba5c500\" data-id=\"ba5c500\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cae980c elementor-widget elementor-widget-global elementor-global-104647 elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cae980c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong><em>D\u00ebshironi t\u00eb mb\u00ebshtetni gazetarin\u00eb ton\u00eb?<\/em><\/strong><\/p><p>N\u00eb Kosovo 2.0, p\u00ebrpiqemi t\u00eb jemi shtyll\u00eb e gazetaris\u00eb s\u00eb pavarur e me cil\u00ebsi t\u00eb lart\u00eb, n\u00eb nj\u00eb epok\u00eb ku \u00ebsht\u00eb gjithnj\u00eb e m\u00eb sfiduese t\u2019i mbash k\u00ebto standarde dhe ta ndjek\u00ebsh t\u00eb v\u00ebrtet\u00ebn dhe llogaridh\u00ebnien pa u frik\u00ebsuar. P\u00ebr ta siguruar pavar\u00ebsin\u00eb ton\u00eb t\u00eb vazhdueshme, po prezantojm\u00eb HIVE, modelin ton\u00eb t\u00eb ri t\u00eb an\u00ebtar\u00ebsimit, i cili u ofron atyre q\u00eb e vler\u00ebsojn\u00eb gazetarin\u00eb ton\u00eb, mund\u00ebsin\u00eb t\u00eb kontribuojn\u00eb e b\u00ebhen pjes\u00eb e misionit ton\u00eb.<\/p><p><em>An\u00ebtar\u00ebsohuni n\u00eb \u201cHIVE\u201d ose konsideroni nj\u00eb donacion.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-f134750\" data-id=\"f134750\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ae6d572 elementor-align-justify elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"ae6d572\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/kosovotwopointzero.com\/en\/complete-support\/?type=subscription&#038;package_id=basic&#038;duration=three-month\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Basic<\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5c99ee0 elementor-align-justify elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"5c99ee0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/kosovotwopointzero.com\/en\/complete-support\/?type=subscription&#038;package_id=standard&#038;duration=three-month\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Standard<\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4e33717 elementor-align-justify elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"4e33717\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/kosovotwopointzero.com\/en\/complete-support\/?type=subscription&#038;package_id=premium&#038;duration=three-month\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Premium<\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4811a4b elementor-align-justify elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"4811a4b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/kosovotwopointzero.com\/en\/support-us\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">One time donation<\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SHQ ENG B\/C\/S Ignazio\u2019s spell How a Latin American cake found its way to the Balkans and beyond. 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