Ice cream enthusiasts, increasingly numerous in our country, take note: if they want to taste the best chocolate ice cream in Italy, it is mandatory to get on the train and make a stop in Milan from “Gnomo Gelato” by Andrea Bistaffa, Francesca Acquaviva and Marco Summonte. Thus decreed the Gambero Rosso Guide of Italian ice cream parlors presented at Sigep, awarding the restaurant in Via Cherubini the Tre Coni, the highest recognition and the special prize "Best chocolate ice cream". Speak about Gnome Ice Cream it is equivalent to speaking of a choice of quality that Andrea Bistaffa rigorously pursued after taking over the reins of his father's ice cream shop.
Here we use only fresh eggs, milk and cream from the Baronchelli farm in the Lodi area, Bourbon vanilla from Madagascar, Valrhona chocolate, candied black cherries especially for them, coffee from the Vercelli roastery, and strictly seasonal fresh fruit. No preservatives, antioxidants, hydrogenated fats, dyes of any kind are used, mono and diglycerides of fatty acids, palm oil concentrates, substitutes or chemical essences”. Equally worth mentioning is the special prize for the best gastronomic ice cream parlor which went to Antonio Mezzalira who, together with his wife, Doriana Marangon, has been managing the "Golosi di Natura" ice cream parlor in Gazzo, in the province of Padua, for over a decade. Also in this case we are faced with a true temple of the Italian gelato genius.
Mezzalira is a great supporter of territoriality which is reflected in his most famous flavors such as ice cream but also worth mentioning among the latest news is the asparagus ice cream, or like the Prosecco di Valdobbiadene ice cream with which he won the world ice cream Oscar at the MIG in Longarone in 2008. “Our production philosophy is very simple – he says – it is transparent: we prefer fresh, high quality natural ingredients to seasonality and the territory, we love to create new balances of taste using typical ingredients that we identify through careful research and selection". Among its classics, the Cream of Gourmands or the Hammam for those who prefer more exotic flavors with tones of sweet cinnamon from Madagascar combined with natural orange candied fruit.
The award for the best emerging ice cream maker went to a woman, Martina Francesconi, from Gelatina in via Garibaldi in Genoa. Young in age and experience but already established in a few years and also with original and innovative ideas. His is not only an ice cream parlor but also a cultural space. From her graphic experiences, Francesconi has developed the idea of a cultural space by realizing an ice cream parlor-library where you can learn about food, while enjoying its basil ice cream, but where there is also a cafeteria that is accompanied by an offer of organic teas and certified organic herbal teas. Obviously yours is an ethical and sustainable ice cream. Finally, the Sustainability Award went to “Maison Corsini” in Turin.
For the record it should be noted that the quality of ice cream in Italy is constantly increasing. Proof of this is that the places awarded by the Gambero Rosso Guide of Gelaterias rise to 55, with the Three cones, and this year there are 12 new entries. Lombardy is in the lead with 11 award-winning ice cream shops followed by Emilia-Romagna with 8; Piedmont, Veneto and Lazio with 6; Tuscany with 5; Liguria, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Campania and Sardinia with 2, Marche, Abruzzo, Puglia, Basilicata and Sicily with 1. Here is the list:
THREE CONES ICE CREAM SHOPS
PIEDMONT
Canelin – Acqui Terme [Al]
Marco Serra Ice Cream Maker – Carignano [To]
Alberto Marchetti – Turin
Mara dei Boschi – Turin
Optimal! Good is not enough – Turin
Soban – Valencia [Al]
LIGURIA
Spinola Creamery – Chiavari [Ge]
Perfume – Genoa
LOMBARDY
La Pasqualina – Almenno San Bartolomeo [Bergamo]
Oasi American Bar – Fara Gera D'Adda [Bg]
Paganelli – Milan
Pavé – Ice cream & slushes – Milan
Chantilly – Wife [Mn]
The Ice Cream Tree – Monza
VENETO
Gourmands of Nature – Gazzo [Pd]
Chocolat – Mestre [Fri]
Zeno Ice Cream and Chocolate – Verona
FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA
Scian the unusual ice cream – Cordenons [Pn]
Fiordilatte – Udine
EMILIA ROMAGNA
Santo Stefano Creamery – Bologna
Scirocco Creamery – Bologna
Stefano – Bologna
Bloom-Modena
Ciacco – Parma
Terminus Creamery – Reggio Emilia
Sanelli – Salsomaggiore Terme [Pr]
The Ice Cream Theater – Sant'Agostino [Fe]
TUSCANY
Carapina – Florence
Gelateria della Passera – Florence
Chiccheria – Grosseto
De' Knives – Pisa
Dondoli – San Gimignano [Yes]
MARCHE
Paolo Brunelli – Senigallia [An]
LAZIO
Greed Greedy for Gelato – Frascati [Rm]
Gretel Factory – Formia [Lt]
La Gourmandise – Rome
Otaleg! - Rome
Claudio Torcè – Rome
ABRUZZO
Bar Gelateria Duomo – L'Aquila
CAMPANIA
Gabriele Creamery – Vico Equense (Naples)
Di Matteo – Torchiara [Sa]
BASILICATA
Emilio – Maratea [Pcs]
SICILY
Cappadonia Ice Cream – Palermo
SARDINIA
I Fenu Gelateria and Pastry shop - Cagliari
