The Results of the First Annual Festa Dei Cuccidati Are IN!

Chicagoland Italian American Professionals
December 2016 
LA FESTA DEI CUCCIDATI
Contest Results 

The 20th CIAP event was a smashing success.  The idea was the brainchild of Mike Benedetto who first learned about the Chicagoland Italian American Professionals at the 17th event which was all about Sicily.  Soon after the event which was held on September 22, 2016 at Casa Italia, Mike approached me with his idea on having a cuccidati fest.  I thought it was such a great idea and we quickly move forward with the idea. 

Mike quite frankly did most of the work as he contacted all the internet bakery contestants and also the local Italian bakeries.  

In the end, it was incredibly well attended and Fra Noi is going to publish an article about the event which highlighted the different styles of the participants.  

So who won the awards?  Here are the results:

• Best Overall Homemade Cuccidati went to Maria Sciacca for overall combination of taste and style. Her delicious cookies were shaped into symbols of Christmas such as a wreath, cradle, and the letter J for Jesus.
• Best Tasting Homemade Cuccidati went to Cara Cipolla Kretz. The recipe for the delicious cookie can be found at her website www.homemdaeitaliancooking.com
• Best Traditionally Decorated Homemade Cuccidati went to Theresa Rubino.
• Most Creative Homemade Cuccidati went to Marilyn Dattilo for her gluten-free version.
• Best Overall Local Bakery was a tie between Allegretti’s and Sicilian Bakery.
• Most Traditional Local Bakery went to Sicilia Bakery
• Best Homemade Local Bakery went to Scafuri’s.
• Best Overall Internet Purchased Cuccidati: MamaMias.com from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
• Best Homemade Tasting Internet Purchase went to KathysConfections.com of Fredonia, New York. ​

Many thanks to all those who volunteered and make the event such a success and to all the cuccidati participants!  Stay tuned for the next Fra Noi edition and look out for the article about this wonderful event.