The panettone diaries of Elena and Gia Vin & Grill's baker Mayara Palma Martin

Panettone takes an inordinate amount of time to make, but like all good things, time = flavour. Here's how a baker at Elena and Gia does it.

J.P. Karwacki

December 11, 2024- Read time: 5 min

Photograph: Elena

Many of Montreal’s bakeries have been in the throes of panettoni production for weeks now, and in a word, it’s... complicated.

It takes an inordinate amount of time, control, and precision to produce, but like all good things, time = flavour.

We asked the baker behind the panettone of Elena and Gia, Mayara Palma Martin, about everything that goes into making panettone for the holiday season.

The mind behind the madre

But first, an introductory preamble: Originally from Curitiba, Brazil near the Argentinian and Chilean borders, Mayara was a social worker before living in Montreal for the last six years, where she embraced a lifelong passion for cooking and pursuit of working in kitchens professionally.

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