Gelateneo heats up gelato craze

FROM left, Chef Avi Shani, Adrian Saydoven, Alpheratz Azarias and Christian Cabral

Summer is arriving a bit ahead of schedule this year—Pagasa is expected to declare the onset of the dry season before the end of this month. Once again, we have the challenge of coping with almost 40-degree weather. For some reason, the heat seems to be especially blazing during election season—maybe to test the candidates’ abilities to endure the heat of the campaign.

On the brighter side, the summer heat gives us an excuse to commit a mild act of gluttony and indulge in a calorie-laden sinful scoop of something even better than ice cream—gelato.

Gelato is the Italian version of ice cream. Meaning it only has 3.5 percent butterfat, as dictated by Italian law (whereas American ice cream must contain at least 10 percent butterfat), although it may also have more sugar. The result is a silky version of ice cream that Audrey Hepburn fell in love with in Roman Holiday and we continue to fall in love with today.

If you ever find yourself at the Vatican, do check out Old Bridge Gelateria near the Vatican Museum for a blessed heaping of authentic gelato. (Good news to our Korean friends, it is opening in Korea soon.)

Here in Manila, some gelaterias include Bar Dolci at Burgos Circle in Bonifacio Global City and Bono Gelato in SM Makati and Aura.

But if you want to take your gelato game a notch higher, why not enroll in a gelato-making class?

Jackie Sy Go, creator of Fabtech Kitchen Unlimited, which customizes kitchens for industry partners, recently decided to also bring in gelato technology and has just launched Gelateneo, a “school” that can teach you how to make gelato.

Gelateneo (the joke at the launch was “why not Ge-La Salle?!”—but apparently ‘ateneo’ is Italian for ‘university’) will allow students to learn the art of making gelato using the latest state-of-the-art machines by Cattabriga.

Cattabriga is an important name to remember because this company has been manufacturing machines that make gelato—or what they call gelato technology solutions—since 1927! This was when Otello Cattabriga invented the mechanical system recreating the techniques of traditional ice-cream making, resulting in gelato that tastes as if you did the authentic old school process. And they’ve just been improving on the machine since.

Gelateneo will be open to anyone of any age who would like to learn the art of making gelato—a school for hobbyists and entrepreneurs alike.

Sauro Cimarelli, who is from IceTeam 1927, makers of Cattabriga machines, joked at the launch of Gelateneo that they ventured into this business because a wise person once said that only three businesses would thrive: gambling, drugs and gelato—and since the last was the only legal option, they went for it!

Serious chefs, though, like pastry chef Miko Aspiras of Scouts Honor and Le Petit Souffle have already enrolled for lessons. Aspiras humbly says he attended a session “to enrich my knowledge about frozen desserts and its technicalities,” since he will soon be opening an ice cream shop “Freezer Burn.” He was very happy with lessons from gelato master Chef Giacomo Schiavone.

“I learned so much about the technical side and the scientific side of making gelato, how different and how similar it is to ice cream. Now I know more or less how to balance my own ice cream recipes,” he said.

Aspiras shared that they used two types of machines: the artisanal Cattabriga vertical gelato machine and the VariO 8 Compacta dual function automatic gelato machine.

CHEF Giacomo at work

“The machine that I focused on though was the latter because that’s what I’m getting for my store. It has an automatic ice cream maker function. It’s an amazing machine!” he said.

The Cattabriga must be the Maserati of gelato machines then because guests to the launch were brought to the venue on this luxury car. Talk about a experiential analogy!

Meanwhile, top food bloggers were all raving about the gelato that Chef Giacomo Schiavone served. Jin Perez, known as Jin Loves to Eat, gushed the following day, “Still fantasizing about last night’s tiramisu gelato, probably the smoothest I’ve ever had in my life … freshly made with mascarpone, espresso, egg and a touch of marsala using the Cattabriga gelato machine by the master Giacomo Shiavone himself … a tiramisu gelato dream come true!”  Another blogger, Gerry San Miguel aka Dude for Food described the gelato as having “fresh and clean flavors.”

For those who just want a taste of this gelato, head over to Bar Dolci where they serve gelato using these machines.

In this heat, it might be a good idea to bring home a few gallons, too!

Gelateneo. For inquiries, call   8510333 or  8518405 (look for Nicey) or e-mail [email protected].

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