Born in 1980 in Fiuggi in the region of Lazio, Loretta Fanella originally wanted to become a stylist.

It was almost by chance that she ended up attending her town’s catering school. She realised that her love for design and forms could also find expression through the art of pastry-making.

In 1999, an apprenticeship at chef Fabio Tacchella’s restaurant Antica turned into her first job as Head of Appetisers and Pastries.    

In 2001, Carlo Cracco offered her the position of chef in the pastry section of his Milan restaurant Cracco Peck. Later, Loretta moved to the Costa Brava for a month-long work experience.

After just two weeks, Ferran and Albert Adrià convinced her to remain in their restaurant elBulli for three years. Here, Loretta Fanella dreamed and experimented, finally turning all dessert traditions on their heads.

In 2006 she returned to Italy, determined to bring to her home peninsula the innovation she herself had begun in Spain. In November she chose the Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence: within one year the restaurant had been transformed, and Loretta was selected as the best Pastry Chef in Italy by Paolo Marchi’s guide.

Since 2008 she has dedicated herself to the training of professionals in the sector, as well as handling the dessert menu for various hotels and restaurants. In 2010, the book ‘Oltre’ (Beyond) came out, a collection of 36 recipes bearing Loretta Fanelli’s signature.

She has been a Lavazza Brand Ambassador since 2014, and by the end of 2015 had acquired a Michelin star.

In 2016 the Ristorante Borgo San Jacopo, whose dessert menu Loretta is proud to put her name on, earned another one.