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Gelato Village made their bi-annual pilgrimage to one of the biggest celebrations of cheese and dairy in the world this September. Simply entitled Cheese, the festival is run by Slow Food International in Bra, Italy. Bra was the town where the Slow Food movement was born, founded by Carlo Petrini. The goals of the movement are to prevent the disappearance of local food culture and ingredients, fight the rise of fast food and help everyone have access to food that is Good, Clean and Fair.

The theme of Cheese in 2019 was ‘natural is possible’ so there was a focus on natural production methods and raw milk cheese. All of these ideas are linked to ethical and sustainable produce, animal welfare and environmental responsibility.

Anchovy Gelato

Gelato Village were invited to present at the Inalpi Freehouse. Inalpi is a Piemontese butter manufacturer who use 100% local milk of the region. We developed two very special gelato to present to the crowds at the festival. The first was an anchovy and butter gelato, which we served on a turmeric and fennel sourdough made by Bisbrooke Artisans in Rutland. This gave the impression of eating the simple Italian snack, anchovy fillet on buttered bread. A unique mix of salty, sweet, rich and creamy, the audience really enjoyed the journey in flavour that we took them on.

Shropshire Prune Damson Gelato

Second, we introduced our Shropshire Prune Damson and butter gelato which had first been showcased at the Ludlow Food Festival, earlier in September. The Shropshire Prune Damson is an ingredient that is recognised by a Slow Food Arc of Taste – a status that is designed to help protect and promote this increasingly scarce local Midlands ingredient. The sharp sweetness of the fruit set against the extra creamy buttery notes made an excellent pairing and were served with a slice of Bisbrooke Artisan’s key product, the Village sourdough loaf. This sourdough bread added an extra note of sourness and a real chew in the crust which helped the serving to balance beautifully.

It was a great experience, developing these new recipes and sharing a taste of some of our local ingredients with our Italian friends and colleagues. Creating a butter themed gelato really tested our creative skills to the limits, but we’re really happy with what we produced!

The UK’s leading makers of artisan Italian gelato, Gelato Village, will be bringing a pop up cabinet to No 8 Delicatessen in West Bridgford this weekend.

Gelato Village are passionate about producing all natural gelato using the very best seasonal ingredients. For a number of years they have done this with the support of Nottingham’s The Fruit Basket, who supply them with the very best in flavourful, in season British produce as well as delicious fruit from further afield. When combined with other local Midlands ingredients, like fresh unhomogenized milk from Vine Farm Dairy in Great Dalby, Leicestershire, Gelato Village’s gelato has proved irresistible – picking up national and even international awards for its quality year upon year.

Now they are bringing their unique flavours to the Fruit Basket’s sister company, the No 8 Deli. Co-owner of Gelato Village Daniele Taverna said “as Slow Food Supporters, we couldn’t think of anywhere better for us to visit in Nottingham. No 8 have been dedicated to food of the highest quality for over 16 years so we know their customers will value the care we take over our gelato and our showcase of the very best produce The Fruit Basket has to offer.”

Gelato Village’s mobile ‘Gelato on Wheels’ cabinet will be at No 8 Deli from Thursday 25th June to Sunday 28th June. Customers will be able to enjoy up to three delicious flavours in a cup of gelato, regardless of which size they choose. The menu will include British strawberry sorbetto and British raspberry sorbetto – both made with fresh seasonal ingredients and vegan friendly. Customers will also be able to enjoy the traditional Fior di Latte gelato, or ‘Flower of the Milk’ which showcases the flavour of the Vine Farm Dairy milk that is the basis of all Gelato Village’s dairy offerings.

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 27^th and 28^th 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.

#gelato2

Over 1000 guests were surprised and delighted by the Gelato in the Square event at Gelato Village, Leicester this weekend.

The two day event saw ten of the world’s leading gelato chefs converge on Leicester city centre to create an unforgettable palatte of flavours and gelato experiences. From New York, Milan and London these artisan masters came to Leicester. They created fresh gelato at the in-store Laboratory each morning and exclusively used natural, seasonal and high quality produce.

Customers were treated to Memories of a Tortello – inspired by the butter-fried sage used to coat tortelli pasta – and Year after Year which examined the impact that time and patience has on the development of ingredients like Scotch whisky and chocolate.

Over 20 events, many of them free, were held at the St Martin’s Square gelateria and in partner venues around the city, with most of the tastings and workshop being free to participate in. They all examined the festival’s theme; “Gelato, a unique flavour journey”. The wild and wacky programme offered unique gastronomic experiences to all who participated, from a 5 course wine pairing tasting menu at the nationally renowned Delilah Fine Foods to tracing the role and impact of different yeasts in a delicious collaborative tasting by microbusinesses Planet Leicester Bakers and Anstey Ale Brewery.

The event closed with an award ceremony celebrating the achievements of the Maestri Gelatieri. Food writers Jan Egan, Tim Burke and Laura Hadland had the enviable task of judging each of the gelati, sorbetti and granite in terms of their flavour, balance, texture, structure and creativity, while a public vote running throughout the festival determined the people’s champion. The overall winner was Stefano Guizzetti of Ciacco in Milan. His flavour ‘Fiery Blackness’ was deemed to provide the greatest flavour journey – with bitter cocoa melding into spiced rum notes, which in turn gave way to a subtle but distinct fire from Trinidad Scorpion chilli.

The public favoured the unusual and complex gelato on offer the most too, voting Gianfrancesco Cutelli of De ‘Coltelli as their winner. His Green Variations sorbetto was a dairy-free creation which blended high quality Sicilian pistachio with semi-candied capers and oregano for a fusion of tastes including sweet, salty and aromatic.

“We are pleased that Leicester was as excited about this event as we were!” said Gelato Village co-owner Daniele Taverna. “We wanted to help people understand what makes authentic gelato so special and it was our pleasure to be able to bring our colleagues from around the globe to do that.”

After four fantastic years of partnership, it is time for Gelato Village to wave a fond farewell to Alan and Jane at Belvoir Ridge Creamery. We wish them every happiness in their retirement and thank them for the amazing rare breed milk and cream that has been the cornerstone of our fresh gelato since we opened back in 2014.

Looking forward we’d like to introduce you all to James and Charlotte from Vine Farm Dairy. Their herd of happy Montbéliarde, Jersey and Holstein cows are now supplying our milk. The herd graze the green grass pastures of the farm in Great Dalby, 13 miles away from Gelato Village.

Their creamy whole milk is pasteurised but unhomogenised. This means that it has been gently heat treated to remove any harmful bacteria, but it has not been through the industrial processes of homogenisation, standardisation and separation so it retains all of its flavour and quality.

The milk is free range. The farm try to maximize the time the cows spend outside grazing in the Great Dalby pastures. In the spring and summer the cows have the freedom to roam around both night and day from field to field. Grazing is good for the cows and good for the milk. During the deep winter months the grass almost stops growing and becomes extremely wet,. Then the cows are housed inside and fed them with the grass that has been conserved as silage and straw in the summer months.

Vine Farm Dairy at Gelato Village

Vine Farm Dairy’s milk is now the foundation for all of our dairy-based gelato. Remember, our gelato is made according to our own recipes. We only use fresh, natural ingredients. Everything is made at our in-store Gelato Laboratory. Just look through the windows to see the Lab in action! If you want to taste the difference that the Vine Farm Dairy makes, then pop into Gelato Village and ask for a taste of our Fior di Latte gelato. This is the flower of the milk – which showcases the flavour of this incredible raw ingredient.

Take it a stage further and you can buy Vine Farm Dairy milk from us by the litre. Just grab your bottle from our drinks fridge. Please return the bottles to us for recycling.