When I worked at a Gelato Cafe…

…I had the most amazing time of my life!

I could sit there sniffing vanilla and sugar, watching streams of freshly made gelato just fall out perfectly in the tub, streaks of sauces folded into gelato. But My favorite part was holding a spoon under the nozzle just as the gelato flowed out of the machine. That flavor explosion, the freshness!

But, the most important lesson I learnt there was how not to look like a mad scientist while experimenting with ingredients and how to calmly juice 30 limes in ten minutes.

I took it up as a summer job a few years ago and the chef/owner there was kind enough to let me help him with everything he did from prepping to slicing to making the base. He was such a humble person, he always took my ideas seriously and we came up with some incredible flavors. Masala chai, musk melon sorbet, basil, PBnJ, carrot cake, some amazing water melon glace for watermelon sorbet and the most decadent dark chocolate gelato there is. The man was an engineer turned artisan gelato maker and he had the wickedest ideas. He would ask his friends to bring him cocoa beans from Ghana, saffron from Spain and Isomalt from wherever- Isomalt, for gelato!!

Since I learnt about the art of gelato making, the spectrum of flavors and the platforms to experiment, I always wanted to make one with caramel, macarons and bananas.

I came up with this banana caramel, which is basically pressure cooked banana in butter, sugar and spice, blend till smooth. Macarons took me FOREVER to perfect but I finally nailed it. To make caramelized banana, I fried the banana in brown butter and sprinkled generously some brown sugar and let it melt on the banana. This way, the outside is like creme brulee, but the inside stays firm. Along with this were some cookie crumbs toasted in butter and a quenelle of salted caramel ice cream.

another shot for instagram!