Alma Talks: Pečivo

There is something almost magical about pastry. Flour, water, butter, time… and suddenly a crisp crust, a tender crumb, a perfectly laminated croissant. What seems simple is the result of patience, precision, and knowledge passed down through generations.

Pastry is both a daily ritual and a craft. It carries memories of childhood kitchens, neighbourhood bakeries, and regional traditions, while constantly evolving through new approaches and changing expectations. It is shaped by hands, fermentation, heat, and intuition, but increasingly also by technology, operational realities, and the evolving demands of guests.

Every loaf is the outcome of a series of decisions: where the grain comes from, how the flour is milled, how much time the dough is given, and how demanding production has become within today’s economic and working conditions. Pastry is therefore not only a matter of taste, but also of origin, process, and accessibility.

AlmaTalks #4 invites bakers, farmers, millers, and gastronomic thinkers to an open discussion about what quality in baking means today. How are craft, technology, and responsibility connected? And can pastry help us rethink the relationship between gastronomy, landscape, the city, and community?

Topics:

• Flour as a decision: Local grain varieties, stone milling and natural variability or standardized production? How does flour influence flavour, character, and the consistency of baking in everyday operations? Where does terroir end and the need for stability begin?
• Regenerative grain: can demand reshape the landscape? Do bakers and restaurants have a real influence on how grain is grown today? Is regenerative flour a systemic change, or still primarily a premium niche?
• The bakery as urban infrastructure: Neighbourhood bakeries are returning as a natural part of smaller towns as well as big city districts. What role does a bakery play in the everyday life of a community today and what does it actually take to open and sustain one in the long term?
• Bread and health: Demand for higher fibre content and “gut-friendly” products is growing. Is this genuinely changing the quality and direction of baking, or simply the way we talk about it?
• The cost of quality: What does good bread really cost today? How do ingredients, energy, labour, and time shape its price? Is it possible to bake with quality while remaining accessible and how can artisanal production scale sustainably?
• Technology as a co-author: Controlled fermentation, climate-controlled proofing, digital monitoring, and new oven technologies are transforming the daily operation of bakeries. Does technology help maintain quality as bakeries grow and face labour shortages or does it change the very nature of the craft?

You can look forward to:

• Alejandro Luna – Alejandro is a pastry chef and consultant with a global career across top kitchens in the US, Asia, and Australia. Former Executive Pastry Chef at Sonoma Baking Co., he blends classic technique with production-driven thinking. Known for his work in sourdough, panettone, and lamination, he builds systems, develops teams, and delivers consistent, high-quality pastry at scale.

• Giovanni Marabese – Giovanni is an Italian food anthropologist researching ingredients, practices, and culinary traditions on the edge of disappearance. In 2021, he founded Tone Bread Lab., a contemporary bakery that uses bread as a medium to explore, reinterpret, and preserve food cultures from remote regions of the world. His work sits at the intersection of gastronomic sciences, ethnobotany, and ocean conservation, combining field research with everyday practice in the bakery.

• Laura Lazzaroni – Laura is a bread consultant, author, and former editor specializing in heirloom and evolutionary population wheats. With a background in biology and editorial leadership at Food&Wine Italia, D di Repubblica, and L'Uomo Vogue, she bridges agriculture, craft, and culture. Known for her work with restaurants, bakeries, and farms across Italy and worldwide, she advises on heritage grain bread programs and is completing a new bread book for Phaidon (2027).

• Laura Valli – Dr Laura Valli is an interdisciplinary researcher exploring food systems with a focus on the cultural, ecological, political and embodied dimensions of grains. Laura earned her PhD at Washington State University Breadlab, where she examined the meaning of rye in localized food systems. Originally from Estonia, rye is both an identity and a teaching tool for her. And perhaps most importantly, a way to connect with others.

• Marek Borský – Marek is an entrepreneur, consultant, trainer, and founder of Supernova Bakehouse. With nearly 10 years in the industry, he has spent the last four building his own concept focused on artisan pastry, croissant dough, and specialty coffee. Alongside his own business, he consults and educates — helping new projects get off the ground on solid foundations. His approach connects product quality, strong concept, and sustainable business.

• Martina Kornfeilová – Martina is a CEO and co-owner of Kornfeil, a family company developing and manufacturing professional bakery technology exported to over 50 countries worldwide. At the helm since 2022, she continues her father's legacy while pushing the brand toward global excellence. A mother of three, she speaks openly about balancing family and leadership, and is a recurring name on Forbes Czech Republic's Most Influential Women list.