Holiday Ayo - Roberto 'Loli' Linguanotto, an Italian pastry chef who was nicknamed the 'father of tiramisu', died on Sunday (28/7) at the age of 81. 

Linguanotto is the inventor of the iconic dessert tiramisu. He died in Italy after battling illness for a long time. 

However, it was not explained specifically what illness the chef was suffering from. A report from the Daily Mail said Linguanotto created the dessert in the early 1970s while working at Alle Beccherie, a famous restaurant in Treviso, northern Italy. 

The report said that local residents claimed he and Alba di Pillo-Campeol, wife of the owner of Alle Beccherie Ado Campeol, perfected the recipe for the coffee-flavored dessert by accident. 

There are several origin stories, but the most popular is the one that says Linguanotto accidentally dropped mascarpone into a bowl of sugar and eggs. 

Alba di Pillo-Campeol, allegedly then added espresso-soaked ladyfingers to the dessert. Tiramisu was originally called 'Tirame Sù', a name that means 'pick me up', and was made with just six ingredients - eggs, savoiardi, sugar, mascarpone, coffee and chocolate. 

“In a short time, the dessert became a staple at Le Beccherie. It was served on a round tray with ladyfingers soaked in coffee, and two layers of cream and mascarpone," journalist Gigi Padovani, who developed a close friendship with Linguanotto, wrote in her book' Tiramisù' which he wrote with his wife, Clara quoted News18. 

“A few years later, in 1983, the tiramisu recipe was published for the first time in the gastronomic magazine Treviso. Le Beccherie then took it to Venice and then spread it throughout the world. Since the 1990s, this dessert has become famous everywhere," wrote Gigi Padovani. 

The governor of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia, said, "I am sorry for the death of Roberto Linguanotto, who had a significant influence in the world of pastry," said Luca, as reported by Metro UK. Today, tiramisu is a globally recognized culinary excellence.