He revolutionized breakfast, made a spread into a worldwide cult brand – now Francesco Rivella is dead. The Italian chemist died on the last Valentine’s Day at the age of 97. This emerges from agreed media reports.
Rivella began working at the confectionery giant Ferrero in 1952 Nutella came on the shelves for the first time. The young scientist, who came from the University of Turin with a degree in food chemistry, became part of the Ferrero team, which worked on new recipes.
In a small chemical room, he worked with other experts on the perfect mix of hazelnuts, cocoa and sugar – and thus created one of the best -known bread spreads around the world. Italian media call him the “father of Nutella”.
He died exactly ten years after his boss
Rivella worked closely with company founders Michele Ferrero during his career, his right hand. Together they traveled around the world to study confectionery – and perfect them.
▶ ︎ Moving: Michele Ferrero died exactly ten years before Rivella – on February 14, 2015.
Current mogul Michele Ferrero died in 2015 at the age of 89
After his retirement, Rivella had in the rural Alba (Italy) withdrawn. There he devoted himself to the fruit growing and promoted traditional ball sport Pallapugno.
Rivella leaves three sons, a daughter and seven grandchildren. His funeral took place in Alba on Monday.