August 19, 2020 / External PR, Internal PR

A Statement from Gelato Village

Last night around 7.30pm one of our co-owners, Daniele Taverna, was physically assaulted in an unprovoked attack out the front of our gelateria. He was fortunate to come away from the violent incident only shaken and bruised. This was in no small part due to the timely intervention of our near neighbours from 33 Cank Street and Bodega and we would like to thank those individuals for stepping in to help with no thought for their own personal safety.

Years of underfunding have left Leicester without decent provision for destitute people in our city that can also struggle with drug and alcohol problems. They are not being helped and this is making the city feel increasingly unsafe in the evenings. This has become even more noticeable since lockdown.

Similarly, reductions in funding are limiting the response times of our police. After taking detailed information over the phone, the police first went to the wrong address and when they finally arrived, Daniele’s assailant had managed to flee the scene.

We are disappointed that we are not able to feel safe in our own shop. Gelato only exists to make people happy, and Gelato Village only exists to allow us to bring a little bit of joy into our customers’ lives. But we will not put ourselves and our staff at risk to do that.

Next Steps

Having discussed the incident with our team this morning, we realise that none of us feel safe opening in the evening anymore. There needs to be changes in the city to make the night time economy more welcoming for workers and for customers. There needs to be better infrastructure in place for us to feel safe running our business. Until there is change we will not be able to open Gelato Village past 7pm in the evening.

We know this will be disappointing for customers who enjoy visiting us for gelato late at night, after a comedy show or as a follow up to a dinner date. We know a lot of people like to come to Gelato Village because it opens late but does not serve alcohol. We hope that all of these customers will understand and respect our decision. We will continue to open in the daytime, to offer Click & Collect and delivery services, and we hope that you will all continue to support Gelato Village. We will continue to regularly post updates about our opening hours on here and on our Facebook page.

Thank you,

Antonio & Daniele

Gelato Village at Number 8 Deli West Bridgford
June 27, 2020 / External PR, Internal PR

Gelato Village hits Nottingham

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.

Gelato Village with Simone de Feo at Cheese 2019
September 30, 2019 / External PR, Internal PR

Gelato Village bring anchovy gelato to the Italians!

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!

Large cup of gelato at Gelato Village Leicester
July 30, 2019 / External PR

Leicester attraction holding ‘Dine in the Dark’ experience

Leicester attraction holding ‘Dine in the Dark’ experience – where guests can’t see what they’re eating

Guests will wear glasses to simulate blindness or visual impairments

 

Leicester foodies are being invited to take part in an eating out event with a difference.

‘Dine in the Dark’, hosted by the National Space Centre in conjunction with sight loss charity RNIB, will be a journey through the senses – except one….

 

Read more and find booking details on the Leicester Mercury

Gelato Village will be providing one of the courses at this exclusive tasting event.

Cold Brew Coffee at Gelato Village Leicester
July 16, 2019 / External PR, Internal PR

Cold Brew Coffee now available!

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.

Welcome to Gelato Village
June 29, 2019 / External PR

5 of the best places in Leicester to go for ice cream or gelato

“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?”

Read more at https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink/5-best-places-leicester-go-3028658

 

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’!

Gelato Village named the Best Dessert Parlour in the Midlands
June 25, 2019 / External PR, Internal PR

Leicester’s Gelato Village named the best dessert parlour in the Midlands

Independent Leicester city centre business Gelato Village has scooped the title of best dessert parlour in the entire Midlands.

The St Martin’s Square eatery received the accolade at the 2019 Midlands Food Drink and Hospitality Awards, which were held in Birmingham last night.

 

Hailing from Turin in Italy, the pair create authentic Italian gelato, with a unique sense of place.

Leicestershire produce used at Gelato Village includes milk from Vine Farm Dairy and honey from The Bee Farmer.

Gelato varieties which give a nod to Leicester’s heritage include Alice Hawkins (lavender and white chocolate) and Richard III (fruits of the forest with homemade rose blossom essence).

 

Antonio and Daniele are currently in Turin speaking at the Turin Epicurean conference about their commitment to fantastic food, so they sent a deputy to receive the award on their behalf.

 

They said: “We are over the moon to have picked up such a high profile award. It is great that the judges were impressed by our use of the best quality seasonal and, where possible, local ingredients to make the best Italian gelato.

 

“We will continue to always make the very best product for the people of Leicester to enjoy and hope award will encourage even more people to visit Gelato Village and to find out all of the great things our fantastic city has to offer.”

Read more on the Leicester Mercury website here.

Bees swarming outside Gelato Village
June 22, 2019 / External PR, Internal PR

Watch swarm of hundreds of bees!

Bees turned us into an Enviro crime scene this week! The insects decided to swarm on the tree outside Gelato Village. They must have heard how good our award winning Bee Happy gelato is. The swarm was quickly and kindly relocated by the Council, but it still made the paper in the interim! It did give us a chance to experiment with a new seating arrangement by the side door though.

They were in more danger located in the city centre. We’re glad it was resolved quickly. It’s good that we have more bees around. But not out the front of the shop! All of nature’s friends are friends of ours. This was a little too close for comfort however. Whatever will happen next. There is definitely never a dull moment here at Gelato Village.

“A swarm of bees caused a bit of a buzz in Leicester’s St Martin’s Square this afternoon.

Hundreds of the insects emerged from a nest in a tree alongside the centre’s entrance at the junction of Cank Street and Hotel Street.”

Read more at https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/watch-swarm-hundreds-bees-turn-3008255

 

Have you ever had a close encounter with bees? What is the strangest place you have seen a swarm? It is definitely not something we’ve ever heard of here in the city centre. Perhaps they were lured in by the beautiful planting at nearby Cathedral Gardens?

mango gelato is a seasonal favourite at Gelato Village
June 21, 2019 / External PR, Internal PR

Mango season has arrived!

The most eagerly awaited part of the year has arrived at Gelato Village. Mango season is here!

Each year, our most popular recipes are Mango Lassi gelato and Mango sorbetto. Customers ask for them throughout the year. But fresh, high quality mangoes are only available for a short period in the summer. That precious few weeks has arrived for 2019.

As usual, we are bringing a variety of Kesar mango from India and Honey mango from Pakistan in store to craft into fresh gelato. Keep an eye on the board as which mango we are currently using will be detailed on the label. This can change from week to week, even day to day, depending on the supply of mangoes.

Mango Lassi gelato won third place in the international gelato competition at the Gelato Artigianale Festival in Agugliano, Italy in 2016. This is a blend of mango, yoghurt and cardamom. It was inspired by the flavours and likes of our diverse communities here in Leicester. If you prefer a non-dairy based treat, then try the refreshing mango sorbetto. This is water based and so is suitable for those who follow a dairy-free or vegan diet.

But the mango season soon passes, so don’t wait for too long to come and try these popular recipes. Remember, you can always have a free taste of a new flavour when you visit Gelato Village. Come and discover how delicious these beautiful fresh fruits are when made into authentic Italian gelato.

Remember, we are Slow Food Supporters, so we always source our ingredients ethically and sustainably.

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