Melbourne

There is something magical about using liquid nitrogen to make gelato or ice cream. I’ve seen it demonstrated – plumes of vapour and, just moments later, icy delights. The science is very simple – liquid nitrogen is really, really, really cold, so anything that comes in contact will freeze really, really, really quickly. A couple of minutes and a lot of beating later – gelato!

But how does it compare with traditional gelato? Time to find out at Dex2rose, the home of artisan-nitro desserts. Continue Reading

Pelligra Cakes is an institution in Greensborough. Since 1985 this Sicilian pasticceria and café has been baking all sorts of Italian dolci – cannoli, biscotti, bomboloni. They also do amazing celebration cakes as well as some Anglo favourites – like giant yo-yos and Neenish tarts.

But Benny and I were bypassing the baked goodies for Pelligra’s house-made gelato. Continue Reading

Coins and cups, clubs and swords: these are the four suits in Sicilian playing cards. And in a celebration of its Sicilian heritage, Gelato Papa’s logo is based on the symbols from those same cards.

Coming from several generations of gelato makers, this family enterprise produces all its gelato in-house using traditional Sicilian techniques. That means that the gelato is made from scratch using all natural ingredients – real fruit, real nuts, with different bases designed to suit each flavour. Continue Reading

It’s a big step to give away the long hours and hard work of high-flying corporate careers for the long hours and hard work of the food service industry, but Caroline and George from Brazen Dessert Bar did just that. And after three years they are still in love with the challenge.

Luscious brownies are their specialty, but they also make their own gelati. And that’s why Benny and I were in Fairfield Village. Continue Reading

Down at the beach end of Bay Street is a gelateria with a difference, Ice Cafe Venezia. We never realised that German-Italian ice cream culture is a thing, but there you go. Think of tall curvy glasses filled with gelato, topped with whipped cream, fruit and sweet sauces. And now that culture has come to Port Melbourne.

Before moving to Melbourne, Ice Cafe Venezia’s owner worked in a German ice cream parlour. Melbourne has lots of ice cream shops and gelaterie, but none are quite like the ice cream parlours she loved in Germany. And so Ice Cafe Venezia was born. Continue Reading

No matter where you are in Melbourne, it seems like great gelato is never very far away. Our latest discovery took us to the outer northern ’burbs to visit the newly opened Cielo Gelateria in Mill Park.

The 2017/18 redevelopment of Westfield Plenty Valley created a very attractive outdoor dining precinct, around ten minutes’ walk from South Morang station. Winding landscaped pathways connect a diverse collection of restaurants, one of which is Cielo (“sky” in Italian). The gelateria’s exterior is clad in burgundy and white tiles, and the inside space is dominated by a huge mural of various gelato-clutching celebrities. Continue Reading