Vaughan man bests Argentinian bakers to be recrowned world champion of traditional alfajores de maizena cookie

Woodbridge's Genarro Rotondaro is anything but cookie cutter after bringing gold to Canada at international baking competition in alfajores

Yorkregion.com
Oct. 2, 2023
Brian Capitao

Panicked, Genarro Rotondaro thought he would be disqualified from the competition. A fish out of water, the Woodbridge native was in Argentina to defend his crown of reigning alfajores champion.

His batch of cookies had been seized by customs due to importation issues. Gennaro had gone from getting an official invitation to do a master-class to now risking his title and being disqualified.\

The pressure was on as he got a call from the event organizer. Juan, the event organizer of Campeonato Mundial del Alfajor, told Gennaro that if the cookies were not delivered by Aug. 19, then he would be disqualified and lose his championship.

The cookies meant too much to Gennaro. He would not crumble.

The recipe had been passed down. First learnt by his aunt who lived in the city of Bernal, in Buenos Aires, who came back with the recipe after living in South America for 15 years, who then taught it to his mother, who then taught it to Gennaro.

But as his mother aged and developed arthritis, Gennaro sought to carry the torch.

Honouring the memory of his aunt

Gennaro wanted to honour the memory of his aunt, who died in 2017. His family had been impressed with his recreations.

But after making it for friends and family for some time, they urged him to sell the cookies commercially.

Gennaro relished teaching people about the humble alfajores cookie. He explained how the cookie came from Morocco and then migrated to Spain, and then how the Spaniards brought it to Argentina, to anyone who would listen.

He had a passion for the alfajores. So, he started small. Gennaro would do private catering events and make them in his home test kitchen. He had considered scaling up, but then the pandemic hit.

But Gennaro kept going. He continued to work on branding, designing and packaging his beloved alfajores, leveraging his prior experience in marketing.

Then a turning point for Gennaro hit.

Gennaro had his own eureka moment after watching his son eat Oreos.

“One morning, my son was having breakfast and he was enjoying some Oreo cookies with a glass of milk. And I was looking at the Oreo cookie and I said, ‘Oh my God, that’s the answer. I should emboss the cookie with my logo on it.””

And so Gennaro went to work.

Then serendipity struck. News of a competition in Spanish popped up in Gennaro’s Google Alerts. The Campeonato Mundial de Alfajor, or World

Championship of Alfajores. Here is it was, the chance for Gennaro to prove that his cookie could rise above the rest.

“This is a phenomenon. In Argentina, this thing is absolutely crazy.”

The challenge would be keeping the cookies fresh. Gennaro spent $300 to ship 24 samples to Argentina. Gennaro agonized as he waited days for his shipment to arrive safely in the hands of the judges.

A sample of Gennaro’s cookies that he sent to Argentina for the first competition.

A couple of days later, Gennaro was greeted by a message from Juan, the event organizer, at 7:30 in the morning.

Gennaro had won the gold medal. Numb and in awe, Gennaro couldn't believe his luck. Out of the 350 competitors, he had stood out.

“All of the 12 judges, he told me, unanimously picked my cookie as the absolute best alfajores that they've ever tasted. They were delighted that I even entered the competition,” said Gennaro

That was the first year, and Gennaro had knocked it out of the park. His second year proved more challenging.

Now he was there in person in Argentina. His samples were denied at the border. He needed to enact a plan.

Gennaro had booked a five-star hotel for his stay. He persuaded the front desk that he was Chef Gennaro from Canada.

“I'm Chef Gennaro, coming in from Canada. I'm a gold-medal winner. I won best alfajores in the world last year. I'm coming down to compete again this year. I need your kitchen,” he said.

News of Gennaro’s arrival piqued interest in Argentina’s local media. A TV station interviewed Gennaro.

They wanted to know, how could a Canadian manage to beat the Argentinians in the alfajores?

And the question on everyone’s mind: could he do it again?

“That night, they announced that the gold medallist. Gennaro’s was chosen again, two years consecutive, back-to-back gold medals as the best version of the alfajores de maizena in the world," he said.