I
The dairy
One herd, one Overberg farm, one delivery a day. We have never taken milk from a second supplier, because the moment you do, you are blending averages instead of choosing a flavour.
Gelato madethe long way.
Milk from one Overberg herd. Fruit tasted before it is weighed. Five kilograms to a batch, folded by hand, sold the day it is churned or not sold at all.
- Cape Town, 2019
- Three, no franchises
- Five kilograms
- Never
Most gelato is a supply chain wearing an Italian name. Ours is a short list of people we have known for years, a machine we refuse to fill, and a rule that nothing sees a second day. That is the whole recipe.
1
dairy, one herd, one delivery a day
5 kg
to a batch, and never a gram more
10
flavours in the cabinet each morning
0
trays carried into a second day
Ten at a time, listed plainly.
- 01
Mixed Berry
Strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry folded through vanilla fior di latte.
R45 - 02
Blueberry
Slow-simmered blueberry compote in every ribbon, nothing from a bottle.
R45 - 03
Vanilla Bean
Madagascan pods steeped overnight, speckled and quietly perfect.
R45 - 04
Strawberry Cheesecake
Cream cheese gelato, roasted strawberry swirl, buttered crumble.
R45 - 05
Chocolate
Belgian dark chocolate churned low and slow until it turns velvet.
R45 - 06
Cookies & Cream
House-baked cocoa biscuits crushed into sweet cream, never soggy.
R45 - 07
Salted Caramel
Burnt-sugar caramel with sea salt flakes and toffee shards.
R45 - 08
Pistachio
Sicilian pistachios ground to a paste in-house, deep and toasty.
R45 - 09
Mango Sorbet
Ripe Alphonso mango and a squeeze of lime, dairy-free sunshine.
R45 - 10
Lemon Sorbet
Amalfi lemons, pressed the morning we churn, bright and clean.
R45
“If the fruit is not good enough to eat by the handful, it does not go in the machine.”
II
The sorting
Berries land at half past four and are tasted before they are weighed. Anything that would not be a pleasure to eat by the handful goes back in the crate, not into the pot.
III
The churn
Five kilograms at a time, turned slow and cold. Small batches hold less air, and less air is the whole difference between gelato and the frozen dessert sold everywhere else.
IV
The fold
Compotes and crumbles go in by hand, off the machine, with a spatula and a slow wrist. It is the least efficient minute of the morning and the one you taste.
V
The counter
In the cabinet by ten, gone by close, never carried into a second day. We would rather send you home with a shrug than with yesterday.
A counter you are welcome to stand at.
Lime plaster, a single travertine slab, and eleven seats. We built it narrow on purpose. Standing at the glass while your scoop is pulled is half of what you came for, and a queue that moves is a better room than a hall of empty tables.
- Eleven, plus the standing rail
- Counter only, no reservations before six
- Rewritten every Thursday morning
Sealed at sunrise, opened at yours.
Packed the morning it is churned and handed over in a case that holds temperature for four hours.
The seven
R890Seven pints, your choosing, in the insulated case.
The pair
R290Two pints and a pair of pressed birch spoons.
The bottles
R320Four bottled shakes, blended from two scoops each.
The mixed berry tastes like someone picked the fruit an hour ago. I have never had gelato this alive.
We drove from Paarl for the strawberry cheesecake. We now drive from Paarl most Sundays.
It is the prettiest shop I have ever stood in, and somehow the gelato still upstages the room.