Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Roberto Cavalli – how status panettone stole the wallets this Christmas

The fruit cake is getting fancy.

Panettone, the airy, sweet Italian bread filled with dried and candied fruit, has long been a Christmas staple. But the often cheap-and-cheerful treat that costs about $10 for a round, domed loaf has gotten an artisanal upgrade in recent years — with a price tag to match.

Designers such as Roberto Cavalli, Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci all have elaborately packaged panetones, as do trendy restaurants, with some costing close to $60 and even over $100 each.

“It’s very good, but definitely more than anyone in my family has ever spent,” said Matt F., an Upper East Sider who is Italian-American and has developed an affinity for the $59 limited-edition panettone at Sant Ambroeus. , our Italian restaurant with locations in Manhattan, East Hampton, Milan and Palm Beach.

The 43-year-old grew up eating cheap store-bought panettone from brands like Bauli. But in 2021, he ordered a panettone slide after a meal at Sant Ambroeus and was forever changed.

“It was so good I was like, ‘Oh shit.’ I’m going to bring one home,’ said Matt, who declined to give his last name for privacy reasons.

Sant Ambroeus is not the only society magnet with expensive panetones. Cipriani sells a $65 foe while designer Roberto Cavalli is joined by Italy-based pastry chef Olivieri 1882 in a $130 version, packaged in a tin with the designer’s signature Ray of Gold print. A $160 version from Gucci Osteria Beverly Hills has sold out.

In downtown NYC, Una Pizza Napoletana on the Lower East Side makes a $109 lemon and dark chocolate panettone that is sold for purchase locally, but still available online through Goldbelly.

Chef/owner Anthony Mangieri defends the cost.

“All of ours are hand-shaped and made with mother yeast, so it takes days to mature before it’s ripe,” he told The Post. We “pay attention to every detail with every batch to understand the dough and create the best product. One of the really beautiful ingredients we use is candied lemon peel that is preserved using an ancient French method which takes days, but the end result is beautiful and clean and so special.”

At Travelers Poets & Friends in the West Village, the bakers are selling $65 artisan panettones in two flavors — a traditional loaf made with candied orange and citron, and a chocolate hazelnut panettone.

Each panettone takes two days to make using native live yeast cultivated by master baker Luca Cascella, candied fruit from Northern Italy, hazelnuts from Piedmont and raisins sourced from California vineyards.

“They are handcrafted with the utmost care and attention to detail. They have become so popular that they are now being shipped nationwide,” CEO Riccardo Orfino told The Post.

She Wolf Bakery, with locations in green markets around Manhattan and Brooklyn, has been selling panettone since 2022. The $65 sweet bread — naturally sourdough and made with local butter, organic eggs filled with cherries dried, pistachio and candied orange peel — sold out of all 25 made within the first hour, a bakery representative told The Post.

The rise of luxury panettones in the US can be roughly traced back to 2018, when Oprah introduced a cake From Roy by Roy Shvartzapel, a Bay Area baker who has worked with Per Se’s Thomas Keller, El Bulli’s Ferran Adrià and the famous French chef of Pierre Hermà © sweets.

In 2018, Roy’s panettone went for $49.99. They now sell for $102 and this year they were sold out for Christmas by December 2nd.

The researchers note that while hitting the panettone stick may be a relatively new phenomenon in the US, the bread has always been about decadence.

“Panettone was created in the 14th century as a rich sweet bread for rich, lavish and opulent special occasions, so it is fitting that it has regained its former status and glory. While panettone has become more popular and well-known here, they are introducing us to the high-quality ones prized in Italy for centuries. Before, we were getting such an industrially manufactured panettone,” Francine Segan, a New York-based cookbook author and food historian, told The Post. “Even the name is fancy. In the Milanese dialect, pan de ton meant “luxury cake”.