Lorenzo Cogo is one of the standout talents in Italian cooking. He won a Michelin star at 25, then moved from chef to entrepreneur, putting a bistro with more than a hundred seats (Garibaldi), the gourmet restaurant El Coq and a gelato shop in one building in Vicenza’s Piazza dei Signori. The format lets him use gelato and sorbet across everything from classic flavours to gastronomic creations.

Interview at Host 2019

Carpigiani interviewed him at Host 2019 while he made a special recipe with white truffle. The full video is online.

Favourite flavour. Cogo’s pick is maple syrup. It reminds him of his travels around the world, when he always carried it with him and used it on pancakes. Trying it as gelato, at a very different temperature, won him over, and it was the first gelato he made at El Coq when it opened in 2011.

First gelato memory. Born in a kitchen, he says there was never a first time. He has always eaten gelato, and notes how much gelato culture has changed since the 1980s and 1990s. His childhood flavours were cream, fiordilatte and stracciatella.

Why gelato belongs on a fine-dining menu

Gelato is always on his menu, paired with a hot or room-temperature element. He values its flexibility and uses it from appetiser and first course through to dessert.

His advice. Do not make it too sweet. Customers increasingly ask for gelato that is less sweet and less conventional, and they are more open to entirely new flavour experiences.

Bring it to your business in New Zealand

If you run a restaurant, bistro or cafe in New Zealand and want to add gelato, Majors Group can help with foodservice solutions and gelato machines. Chefs can also learn the techniques through Carpigiani Gelato University.

Source: Carpigiani news. Rewritten for New Zealand by Majors Group.