The Man Who Blessed the World with Nutella Has Died

If you’re a fan of the hazelnut spread NUTELLA, I have two pieces of news for you today . . . one sad, and one somewhat uplifting.

First, the sad news:  The Italian chemist who’s credited with inventing Nutella passed away on Valentine’s Day.

His name was Francesco Rivella, and he’d been in the sweets business since 1952, when he began working at Ferrero . . . the Italian chocolate company.

Francesco was considered the “Father of Nutella,” and played a “crucial role” in perfecting the recipe.  He also came up with the name.  It was first introduced in 1964.

The somewhat uplifting news is that Francesco lived to be 97 years old . . . and while it’s unclear how often he ate Nutella, it’s probably fair to say that he enjoyed a decent amount of it.  And it apparently had NO IMPACT on his longevity.

Still, it’s a little bittersweet that Francesco died on Valentine’s Day . . . and just over a week after World Nutella Day, which was celebrated on February 5th.

(Fox News / Daily Mail)