In summer 2019 a group of travelling filmmakers set out across America in search of the secret to happiness. The result, “Some Like It Cold – USA Mission”, was filmed with the support of Carpigiani Frozen Dessert University in collaboration with Gelato University.

The road trip

The mini-series, directed by Aldo Innocenti, runs to 8 episodes plus extra teasers, each built around a different frozen dessert maker with a different story. The crew left Manhattan on 6 June, headed west, and finished the tour in Minnesota on 30 June. Episodes were released through Carpigiani Gelato University’s YouTube channel.

The cast of makers ranged from a former Noma pastry chef developing vegan frozen desserts to a young woman running a large gelato food truck, and from a Pennsylvanian who builds seasonal recipes around ingredients from flowers to carrots to a Brooklynite who has never changed his secret recipes.

The eight protagonists

• Jon Snyder, Laboratorio del Gelato, Manhattan: from an ice cream family, he opened Ciao Bella Gelato in 1989. In 2002 he opened the Laboratorio del Gelato on the Lower East Side, making 300 flavours for the public and local restaurants and cafés, and added a second store in Greenwich Village in 2017.
• Malcolm Livingston, 36 Brix by Ghetto Gastro, the Bronx: a former Noma pastry chef and co-founder of the Ghetto Gastro culinary collective. 36 Brix is a young plant-based vegan frozen dessert brand presented in luxury settings, named after a sugar-level measure and the Wu-Tang Clan album 36 Chambers.
• Dino Russo, Uncle Louie G’s, Staten Island: a self-made entrepreneur who built a water ice and ice cream business from nothing, helping keep the Italian-American “Italian Ice” tradition alive.
• John Fezzuoglio, Owowcow, Ottsville, Pennsylvania: he does not write down recipes, instead creating new flavours daily from organic or locally sourced ingredients. He runs five premium ice cream stores.
• Linda Mercurio, Mercurio’s Pizza & Gelato, Pittsburgh: a family shop pairing gelato and Neapolitan pizza, with skills learned in Italy.
• Lara Hammell, Izzy’s Ice Cream, Minneapolis: the founders learned their craft at Carpigiani Gelato University. The shop holds an annual flavour contest, and gives every customer a free extra “Izzy scoop” to taste something new.
• Kathy Turek, The Knotted Cone Gelato, Appleton, Wisconsin: a Carpigiani Gelato University graduate who runs a gelato food truck using Wisconsin dairy and locally made ricotta.
• Billy Lodde, The Igloo, Lafayette, Indiana: a third-generation frozen custard maker who still uses the recipe his grandfather developed, in one of Indiana’s oldest continuously run businesses.

Ice cream and gelato: what is the difference?

Ice cream and gelato each have deep roots in their home countries, and the word gelato is often simply translated as ice cream. In the United States, the FDA defines ice cream as a frozen dairy product with at least 10% butterfat, with no distinction between artisan and industrial production. Gelato has no legal definition there. Fresh, locally made product from a neighbourhood parlour remains hard to beat, whatever the label.

What this means for gelato makers in New Zealand

These stories show that a small business, whether a food truck or a family shop, can grow from a good recipe and the right training. Majors Group can help you get started with Carpigiani Gelato University courses, Carpigiani gelato machines and the guide to opening a gelato shop.

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