A chef who cooks in balance
Stefano Marinucci calls himself a chef and artisan gelato maker, and he comes by both honestly. His family has been in the restaurant business for more than 90 years, and sourcing has always been the family obsession. Italy’s extraordinary aromas finally drew him to gelato, and then he started rethinking what gelato is actually for.
His answer is savoury gelato. He takes one key element of a dish, draws out its essence and builds a gelato around it, then serves it with the hot components on the plate. Cold against hot, silky against crisp, salt against sweetness. The contrast is the whole point.
“Everything I do comes down to one thing: balance.”
— Stefano Marinucci, Soft Makers
Why it works in a restaurant
The Giotto 11 is just 300 mm wide, so it fits near the pass. In the gravity-fed version the mix flows into the freezing cylinder without a pump, which suits a denser, gelato-style texture, and the 6.5 L refrigerated hopper is ideal for a signature flavour that changes with the menu.
And the idea travels. Picture local olive oil gelato beside slow-roasted lamb, a parmesan gelato melting into mushroom risotto, or kawakawa gelato with kingfish crudo. Once you start thinking of gelato as a seasoning, the menu opens right up.
