THE HOT SPOT AWARD FOR THE BEST GELATO OF 2023
This blog title might be Never Have I Ever because, despite a strong consensus, we did have the odd difference, which is only natural. However, on our Reunion in Rome in 2023, everything Gelato was to be at the forefront of our focus.
The Reunion comprised the Three Original dreamers who spent the monsoon in the mid-90s madly experimenting with our little hand-cranked wooden bucket. One day, thunder and lightning struck, and we would produce what we reckoned was true Artisan ice cream following the standards set by Steve Herrell, our beloved Ice Cream Guru whose magic revolutionized Ice Cream at the time.
Twenty-Three years later, it was time to head to Italy and learn from the very best, absorb a ton of information, ask every question, imbibe their culture –true love and respect for the craft of making Ice Cream – Primarily for love and then perhaps the steps towards a profession that is highly regarded, respected and valued.
To share our experiences and methodology with them and discuss techniques, machines, problems, freezing times, milk, cream, eggs, sorbets, vegan options and sugar. The whole experience was about knowledge and love – to embrace a lifestyle where the love of Ice Cream or, in their language, Gelato is an art, a passion deeply ingrained into the culture.
In the last quarter of a century, Italian tradition has taken Ice Cream to gain acceptance as a cuisine of the highest echelon. Like with most food, it’s about the excellence and purity of ingredients, the methodology and tools but most of all, the love and passion and the ability to absorb and learn from mistakes and yet continue to push boundaries that set aside the “Gods” from the mortals.
Yet there is always time to keep learning, absorbing new forms of excellence and trying to achieve them by maintaining new standards, and someday returning to tell the master craftsmen and women a tale or two!
A huge thank you to so many artists who were so willing to share their knowledge and answer all our answers, and we would like to hope that occasionally we will be in a position to put in a word or two as well, considering it has been 25 years now, making Ice Cream. Over time, we will attempt to emulate some of the names below. We can certainly do our best.
Meanwhile, here is a list of the most incredible Gelato or Ice Cream experiences from our Italian Gelato Expenditure of the Summer of 2023, The Summer of the Grim Reaper’s heatwave. This learning expedition was about to become the culinary experience of food that makes the world a better place.
We experienced the love of Ice Cream like never before. The Gelato took us to levels of food joy never yet experienced – Our senses were taken on a dizzying ride, Spider-senses tingling like never before.
Most of our Italian experience was excellent; some was Food From The Gods perfection. It was impossible to go wrong. The only undeniable thing was only those who eat McDonald’s in Italy or go to Starbucks rather than their an Italian Café will be found devouring a Wall’s Cornetto or Magnum instead of freshly made Gelato—only them.
The Best Ice Cream, according to The Hot Spot in 2023, is.
A+ Gelateria Fata Morgana
Fiocco Di Neve
Gelateria Della Palma
These three were the cream of the crop with innovative flavours and a stunning level of quality. Flawless. The Best Ice Cream we have ever had the joy of experiencing.
A Giolitti
Gunther
Lemongrass Gelato
Fabulous Gelato. Flawlessly brilliant. Gunther had the most incredible chocolate. Giolitti is an Institution, and it is easy to see just why. A young brother and sister team run Lemongrass Gelato, and they are determined to earn a name for themselves, producing the most delightful flavours using excellent ingredients.
A- Otaleg!
The quirkily named Otaleg! enjoys a strong following and has earned quite a reputation for its excellent Gelato. Perhaps the difference between these and the outlets ranked higher is that they aren’t quite as interesting regarding the more unusual flavours.
B+ Retro Gelato
iTropici Gelato
Gelateria Aurelia
Come il Latte
Venchi
Of these outlets, Come il Latte enjoys a massive reputation. We found each of these outlets to offer a very high standard of product indeed. Other than Come il Latte, they were all reasonably small outlets with restricted space and, therefore, some flavours that would be on and off being available. Yet the quality of their Gelato was top-notch. Come il Latte was excellent and supposedly made Gelato on-order on the spot, any flavour you wanted. I had been thinking of shocking them by asking them to churn me up a “Meetha Paan” flavour, undoubtedly the most unforgivable idea yet. Fortunately, that didn’t happen, but it could!
Venchi has been well-established for years and has a flourishing fancy outlet in London. The highly rated iTropici had its charm, and tellingly, all their clientele, other than us, were locals on our two or three visits.
B Gelateria Dei Gracchi
The Gelatist
Gelateria Millenium
The Gelatist had little outlets all over town, and maybe because it was a large chain rather than a few outlets, the product appeared more generic and middle of the road. They were catering to the broader crowd and losing a little edge. Maybe even a hint of using Pre-Mix packaged mixes? The suspicion did arise with the flavours being so uniform and slightly generic. Indeed excellent Gelato, though, but perhaps not outstanding. Gelateria Dei Gracchi was disappointing, with the Gelato marred by discernable bits of ice. For a highly-rated outlet, this was a bit of a turn-off. I walked away thinking maybe we just visited them at the wrong time on an off day. Gelateria Millenium was again an excellent and satisfying Gelato, yet it also begged the question of being made from a packaged Mix. The experience shows that the Packaged Mixes in Italy are of very high quality. The seasoned connoisseur will also learn the difference between the real thing, and Gelato made from a Packet without too much trouble. Any Gelateria that reverts to using Packaged mixes rather than organic ingredients is only in it for the profit, not the love of the product.
C GROM
Grom was the exception among the Gelato we tried. Though they have outlets, they also mass produce their product for sale in supermarkets and the corner store. Though their range of Gelato was impressive and the ones we sampled perfectly enjoyable, there was an apparent gulf between a freshly churned Gelato and one that needs to be compromised to be long-lasting, sometimes for weeks or months in a supermarket freezer. Though Grom was a delicious gelato, it had all the hallmarks of a large-scale, factory-produced product. It is reliable as it will always be the same and yet generic because it is mass-produced on a vast scale for the entire nation and beyond.
Comparing GROM with many shops mentioned above that use 100% natural ingredients and churn their own Gelato daily is like comparing chalk and cheese. There is no comparison between the perfection of a machine-made product and the flair that goes with something crafted by hand. That said, if you can’t get your hands on handmade Gelato and must rely on the supermarket for convenience, you can hardly go wrong with GROM, even if you can order from an outlet that does make their Gelato Fresh!
There is no shortage of Ice Cream outlets to select from in Italy, but don’t be surprised to find there is little room for some famed American chains such as Baskin and Robbins, not the force they were 50 years ago, nor will you find the more recent chain that is known more for their servers having to burst into song every few minutes rather than the quality of their Ice Cream.
It is noticeable that only the tourists will douse their Gelato with bits of Oreos, sprinkles, sparkles, smarties or masses of Chocolate or Caramel sauce or for those extra “Likes” on the Gram!
Fortunately, the depressing notion of Instagrammable food hasn’t yet displaced quality food. Mercifully, you won’t find “loaded” this or that, nor will you find revolting dollops of chilled processed cream fused with cookies serenading as Real Dairy Ice Cream. (dire economics driving equally alarming food trends).
Non-Italian Gelato brands, such as those serving fluorescent and beautiful flavours like Cotton Candy and Bubble-gum, don’t stand a chance. Not even the French Glace or Frozen Custard. Not in Italy.
D Romeo Gelateria
Romeo Gelateria and several of its kind thrive because they are in a spot infested by tourists. These outlets are more about flashy presentation and compromised non-traditional, overpriced Gelato flavours, and most use packaged mixes for their product. You will unlikely find Romans queuing outside Gelato shops such as the Romeo Gelato; they know better. Some might call Rome and its kind Tourist Traps. Romeo Gelato was the only one on an extended trip that ended up in the bin; it was mediocre, and I needed stomach space for better!
F Walls’ Cornetto & Magnum – These are available widely at corner shops all over the city. Unilever, owners of Walls, Magnum and Ben & Jerry’s and General Mills, USA, The owners of Haagen Dazs, respectively. (You didn’t actually believe Haagen Dazs had anything to do with Scandinavia, did you?) Both conglomerates know how to do a job and do it remarkably well. That aside, the true blasphemy is to experience Italy and devour Cornettos and Magnum by choice rather than their incredible local Gelato. We would never refuse a Magnum coated with real Dark Chocolate unless in Italy.
I could not complete a favourite from previous times, and half of the very sweet, bland, rather fake-tasting Vanilla Frozen Custard ended up in the bin. There is little room for mediocrity when it comes to Gelato in Italy. Shake Shack’s burgers may work out, but their Ice Cream has no chance. Not in Italy.
A Shout-Out to the brilliant Tizziano, who served us at Gunther and was so helpful with all sorts of information. Including a demonstration and instructions on all kinds of aspects of Gelato Making. We will be eternally grateful for the tips. Thank you also to the lovely warm service with a smile from the ladies serving their magic at Cremeria Aurelia.
Today, we unanimously agreed the Gelato served at Fata Morgana was the finest we had ever experienced in life thus far, with Geletaria Della Palma and Fiocco Di Neve pushing them all the way.
The Hot Spot Award for the finest Ice Cream on the planet in 2023 goes to Fata Morgana, Rome, Italy.
We have already planned to return for round 2 of The Gelato Expedition next year to see if Fata Morgana can defend this “accolade.” The planned trip can also be interpreted as a flimsy excuse for gorging on masses of magnificent Gelato all over again. But then, in our world, life is too short not to devour as much freshly churned Gelato as soon as possible!
