Gucci's Michelin-Star Chef Once Created A Record-Breaking $150 Panettone

Panettone, a traditional Christmas bread that is more or less Italy's answer to fruitcake, may not be as polarizing as that most hated of holiday treats – as far as we know, no one's organized any festival devoted to flinging the stuff as far away as possible. But then again, not everyone is all that excited about slightly sweet bread stuffed with dried fruit. While panettone does have its fans, even the most ardent among them are probably not prepared to shell out big bucks for the stuff ... Or are they?

For Christmas 2020, however, La Cucina Italia relates how the House of Gucci decided to up the ante by creating its own designer panettone. Needless to say, this Christmas bread did not come cheap. Gucci, after all, is the place to go if you have boatloads of cash to burn, as the retailers will happily relieve you of over $200 in exchange for a pair of cotton socks or more than $400 for a pouch in which to keep your dog poop bags. Whether or not it was intentional, though, this pricey panettone actually managed to set a world record.

While Gucci is not generally known for its food, it does have a restaurant called Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura that currently boasts a single Michelin star. The restaurant's chef Mattia Agazzi, in partnership with baker Roy Shvartzapel, created two different takes on luxury panettone to be sold at the eatery's Florence and Beverly Hills locations. One of these panettones was made in the traditional style with candied orange peels and raisins and the other with orange peel and the Nutella-like hazelnut/chocolate paste known as gianduia. Gucci being Gucci, a great deal of attention was paid to the packaging as well, with the panettones being presented in limited-edition tin boxes.

The cost for each panettone? A hefty $150, not including shipping and handling. While that price tag is actually pretty cheap for Gucci, it nonetheless sets a new record for this particular type of baked goods. According to World Record Academy, Gucci can now claim the dubious distinction of having sold the most expensive commercially-available panettone in the entire world. Still, records are meant to be broken, and it seems Gucci may have done so already – the 2022 Christmas panettone, flavored with amarena cherries and chocolate, is priced at $160. What's next, panettone made with gold leaf for 2023? If Gucci does it, we bet it'll run upwards of a grand, for sure.