THE restaurateur Ado Campeol, hailed as ”the father of tiramisu” by the Italian press, has died aged 93.

Campeol was the long-time owner of Le Beccherie in Treviso, north Italy, where the now famous dessert was said to be invented in 1969.

The story goes that tiramisu was a chance creation after mascarpone cheese ended up in the egg and sugar mixture during the making of vanilla ice cream.

After Campeol tasted the mix on a coffee-soaked savoiardi biscuit (known in Britain as lady fingers), the combination was born.

It was reportedly perfected by Campeol’s wife Alba Di Pillo before being christened tiramisu, which translates to “pick me up.”

The dish, though never patented by the family, was added to the menu at Le Beccherie in 1972 but didn’t rise to real fame until 1981, when the Italian food writer Giuseppe Maffioli wrote about it in the regional magazine Veneto.

Maffioli also credited the restaurant’s pastry chef with its conception: “Recently, just a little more than a decade ago, in the city of Treviso, there emerged a new dessert: the tiramisu.

“It was proposed for the first time at the restaurant Le Beccherie by a certain pastry chef named Loli Linguanotto.”

Others have claimed ownership over the dessert, which has been widely adapted by chefs around the world, and its origins are often disputed among Italian regions Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia.

But it is widely acknowledged tiramisu can be traced back to Le Beccherie, and perhaps it was the combined efforts of Ado, Alba and their pastry chef that brought about the first.

Luca Zaia, the governor of the Veneto region, said of Campeol’s death: “Treviso loses another star in its food and wine history.”

The restaurant shared a photo of its founder on social media, writing that “Ado Campeol contributed fundamentally to the history of Le Beccherie and tiramisu, supporting Alba’s project to make our sweet symbol known to the world.

“With him we close an important chapter of Treviso’s history.”

(SD-Agencies)