Now in its sixth year, the Fairy Meadow event sees customers queue around the block for cut-price vanilla custard, chocolate and ricotta cannoli.

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The Sicilian-born pastry chef will wake at 2am to make sure the shells are as fresh as possible, open at 8am with plenty of staff and close the doors to his eponymous pasticceria only after every last customer has been served.

Last year that meant he sold his last box of cannoli at 7pm and, after cleaning up, didn't turn off the lights to go home until 10.15pm - but you won't hear him complaining.

"Cannoli Day is to me a gift for all my customers," Mr Papa said.

"Six years ago when we started (the event), it was $1 and $2. After six years, with increases in prices and everything, we still keep it $1 and $2 - and another five years it will still be the same.

"It doesn't matter if we don't make money, the day is to say thank you to our customers for supporting us."

Mr Papa says the secret to his perfectly crunchy shells and creamy filling is in the century-old recipe he learned from pâtissier Nino Cali in Sicily. (The only deviation, he said, was his use of vegetable oil to accommodate different dietary requirements.)

"(Nino) died a few years back, close to 100 years old, that's why the knowledge he passed on to me was over 100 years old. I always keep the tradition," he said.

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To remain COVID safe, this year's event won't feature the annual cannoli-eating competition - the record stands at 11 minutes for 20 shells - but Mr Papa hopes it will return bigger and better next year.

Cannoli Day at Pasticceria Massimo Papa, 130 Princes HIghway, Fairy Meadow, Sunday from 8am.

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