It has only just reached its third edition but the numbers of the CIRS Messina initiative “Solidarity Panettone – Together is better” are already record-breaking. And they are thanks to the participation of companies in the confectionery and catering sector, including from the provinces of Catania and Palermo, who wanted to respond to the invitation to make and donate their Christmas sweets for a just cause. Yesterday afternoon at the CIRS headquarters the numbers were released and the creators of this great success presented which will bring lifeblood into the coffers of the family home chaired by Maria Celeste Celi.
A solidarity network that is increasingly expanding with 19 chefs, pastry chefs and bakery chefs, but also the IIS Antonello and the ITS Albatros, who donate the panettone they produce. Christmas sweets are intended for companies that want to give a gift with important social value to their employees, or private individuals. 600 panettone have already been ordered, but the figure is probably destined to grow.
The Christmas campaign “Together is better”, now in its third edition, was created to support training and job placement projects for guests of the facilities managed by the organisation, women who are victims of violence or in a temporary state of socio-economic hardship.
For the 2023 edition the initiative has taken on a regional dimension, involving professionals from various parts of Sicily. Some have created or made available products other than panettone, in order to be part of this virtuous circle around Cirs.
Chef Pietro D’Agostino from Taormina has joineda Michelin star restaurant La Capinera in Taormina and chef Dionisio Randazzo of the Nunziatina restaurant, with its gingerbread houses, designed for the little ones, and the Ciccio Parisi pastry shop in Roccalumera. Two other starred chefs have joined, this is the chef Nino Ferrerione Michelin star of the Limu Restaurant in Bagheriawhich produced biscuits and lo chef Giuseppe Racitione Michelin star of the Zash Restaurant in Replaced. To toast during the Christmas holidays, with an eye to solidarity, also the bubbles and mead from Tenuta Rasocolmo, which donated the two labels to combine with the panettone or to purchase individually. The donated products are packaged at the Cirs headquarters in elegant decorated boxes and personalized. For this edition, a house-shaped box was chosen, which recalls the family home that Cirs manages, a symbol of the daily commitment to women and children in difficulty.
Furthermore, since last year, Cirs has successfully started its own panettone production in which the young women guests in the reception facilities have actively participated, followed by the tutor-chef Gianfranco De Salvo. The Cirs-branded panettones will be sold together with those of other producers who have donated theirs. For this edition, chef Pietro D’Agostino hosted the girls from the family home in the Taormina laboratory to teach them the recipe for his starred panettone.
During the presentation to the press, the “Stars of Cirs Solidarity” were awarded to the project partners, in recognition of the sensitivity shown towards the activity carried out by Cirs in Messina since 1957.
The “stars of solidarity” who donated panettone and other products to Cirs
IIS Antonello
ITS Albatross
Pietro D’Agostino – chef
Dionisio Randazzo – chef
Paolo Romeo – chef
Lillo Freni – pastry chef Pasticceria Freni
Lillo Vinci – pastry chef Pasticceria Vinci
Daniele Bonansinga – pastry chef Pasticceria Panebianco Principe
Nino Parisi – pastry chef Pasticceria Parisi
Natale Laganà – bakery chef Panificio Laganà 1968
Carmelo Patti – bakery chef Panificio Le tre Sorelle
Francesco Arena – bakery chef at Panificio Arena
Francesco Furnari – bakery chef Panificio Furnari
Matteo La Spada – pizza chef Restaurant – pizzeria L’Orso
Giuseppe Raciti – chef
Nino Ferreri – chef
Pietro Di Noto – pastry chef and master ice cream maker
Rasocolmo estate
The companies that purchased the panettone
Comet srl
Caronte & Tourist Group
Despar Fiorino Group
Gugliandolo oils
St. Anthony’s canteen
Chamber of Commerce
Bernava Spa
Il Sole e La Luna Beauty Center
