An independent food festival, selling pizza, curry, ice cream, cakes, barbecue food and other cuisine, is being launched in the city.
The new event, called Leicester’s Independent Food Festival, will take place on the August bank holiday, Monday, August 31.
Se non fosse per la favola dei Foxes di mister Ranieri, Leicester sarebbe potuta rimanere rilegata nell’immaginario collettivo come una delle piazze centrali di Londra.
It may be Autumn, but last weekend I was taken back to Italian summer evenings on the shores of Lake Garda, to afternoons of stifling heat in Florence, and stolen moments outside Leicester Cathedral on warm, sunny lunch breaks.
Their second annual Gelato in the Square event will celebrate the unique stories that artisan gelato tells. These are master craftspeople whose creations reflect seasonality, local produce, folk memory and food heritage.
Six leading gelaterias from around the world will be flying their teams to St Martin’s Square in Leicester. This includes L’Albero Dei Gelati of Brooklyn, New York. They will be presenting ‘Year after Year’, a gelato which celebrates the unique impact of time and patience in the production of complex flavour profiles.
Giovanna Musumeci of Pasticceria Musumeci in Sicily will be putting Leicester’s palates to the test by offering a gastronomic tomato granita. This will be served on toasted bread with burrata and basil in the style of a bruschetta.
All of the gelato makers are committed to using only the best ingredients, and do not use any artificial stabilisers, preservatives or flavourings. Half of the 17 flavours will be dairy-based. The gelatieri will have to adapt their recipes so that they work in balance with the rare breed Leicestershire cow’s milk that Gelato Village will provide from the local Belvoir Ridge Creamery’s single herd of Red Poll cattle. The other half of the recipes on offer will be water-based, meaning that they are suitable for vegans and others who follow a dairy free diet.
Running over 27th and 28th October, the event is being put on in collaboration with the newly established BID Leicester. They make funding available to BID area businesses to support events that make Leicester a more attractive place to visit.
Simon Jenner, BID Leicester director:
“Gelato in the Square is a great event, giving us a taste of some of the world’s best gelato right here in Leicester. We are pleased to be supporting Gelato Village with this event which can help to benefit the whole BID area by raising Leicester’s profile as well as bringing more people into the city centre.”
As the gelato is served using traditional spatulas, rather than scoops, visitors to Gelato Village will be able to enjoy a cup or cone of up to three festival flavours, regardless of what size they choose. Throughout the two day event there will be a series of free workshops and tastings that look at the journey of the ingredients in more detail. Foodies can also get stuck in at ticketed gastronomic events. There is also a 6 course Taster Menu pairing gelato with Italian wine at neighbouring Delilah Fine Foods, the UK’s leading deli. Tickets for this unique menu cost £32 and are available from Delilah on 0116 296 3554.
“We want to shout out about what makes authentic gelato different. Creating a complex gelato in perfect balance takes knowledge and skill.” said Daniele Taverna, co-owner of Gelato Village. “Using the best quality ingredients always shines through. We, and our colleagues, are dedicating to respecting Slow Food principles and seasonality and we can’t wait for everyone to try the results of our hard work!”
Admission to Gelato in the Square is free, just pay for the gelato you consume.
For more information, visit our website.
“Hooray, the sun’s shining – and it looks like it’s here to stay for the next few days at least.
Of course, we all know what goes hand in hand with glorious sunshine, don’t we?
Yes, a delicious ice cream, or gelato.
Here in Leicester, there’s some brilliant places serving up these sweet treats, so why not pop into one of these parlours?”
We love how the Leicester Mercury knows that we make gelato and not ice cream. They are fantastic supporters of small local business in the city and always try to get the word out about what we are up to. Well, the weather is absolutely glorious today so we hope the whole of Leicester will pay us a visit and say ‘ciao’!
If you have a taste for burgers produced with flair and originality, make a beeline for Crafty Burgers, says Tim Burke. But make sure you’re hungry…
St Martin’s Tea and Coffee has been one of the most lively independent businesses in Leicester city centre for years. After starting life as a cookware shop, it opened a coffee roastery, then combined the two businesses and opened a cafe, which eventually swallowed up the cookware business.
If you love gelato as much as we do, you will love this post by Laura Hadland about Gelato Village, in Leicester, UK. This is the gelateria founded by our Twitter and Instagram friends Antonio and Daniele, both from Turin
Hurrah! Gelato in the Square is back again this month. In Leicester we’re already lucky enough to get to enjoy world class gelato every day of the week at Gelato Village, but from 26 – 28 October you’ll be able to enjoy a range of other delights as some of the world’s top Gelatieri join us for the event.
Throughout the festival there will be a series of events and talks, but read on because here we have the first look at the gelato flavours that will be presented during Gelato in the Square. With some wildly unique flavours this is really a unique chance to enjoy some of the finest gelato you can find anywhere in the world.
This year’s theme is ‘Gelato: a unique flavour journey’ and the gelatieri will be taking this as their inspiration to craft bespoke gelato which showcase their very best ingredients.
Read more at Cool As Leicester
New for summer 2019 we now have cold brew coffee available in store. Just made with water and ground single origin coffee. This is then steeped for more than 20 hours to get the flavour and served from our new counter top tap. As with all of our coffee, we use Caffe Vergnano – a high quality and ethical coffee supplier from Italy.
Enjoy your cold brew coffee as it comes, or add sugar and milk to your taste. Of course our cups are all biodegradable and compostable if you choose to enjoy it to take away. Come and try the latest coffee craze for yourself here at Gelato Village.