Maurice Terzini is all about flipping conventions. When he opens a new Italian restaurant he gives the chef free reign to add XO sauce to pizzette and dashi to pasta. His clothing line, Ten Pieces, is literally that each season: 10 items of clothing, designed to be worn by all genders. So when he works with a renowned Sydney bakery on that most classic of Italian Christmas sweets, the panettone, you know it won’t be like what nonna used to make.

Terzini has collaborated with Sonoma bakery on the Sonoma x Icebergs Panettone. Sonoma’s executive pastry chef Alejandro Luna has worked on the loaf for nine months, designing a three-step fermentation process, developing its tart flavours and aromas. On completion, it’s hung upside down to maintain its traditional panettone dome shape. All up, it takes more than 36 hours to make, from fermentation to plate.

While the basis of the loaf is traditional, it’s the extras that make it purely Australian. Terzini and Luna use Aussie macadamias, Davidson plum and sour cherries, all soaked in native lemon myrtle syrup and milk chocolate. The loaf is made with butter from Sydney’s Pepe Saya.

Stay in the know with our free newsletter. The latest restaurants, must-see exhibitions, style trends, travel spots and more – curated by those who know.

SIGN UP

“This collaboration is a labour of love and represents the true essence of Icebergs Dining
Room and Bar,” Terzini said in a statement. “Flavours my parents would recognise, but food they would never cook.”

There’s a special significance to the collaboration, too: Icebergs was one of the first restaurants to use Sonoma’s bread back when it was founded.

This special panettone is available to buy and take home for $35 from Icebergs Dining Room and Bar, CicciaBella, The Dolphin Hotel, Victor Churchill and Drnks. It’s also on the dessert menu at Icebergs, CicciaBella and The Dolphin.

Available from today, December 16, for a limited time.