Gelato! Gelato!
by Massimo Bertonasco and Larissa Bertonasco
As a little boy, Massimo Bertonasco not only loved ice cream, because his nonna had a latteria on the Ligurian coast, where she sold ice cream that her son Hugo made. But Massimo also loved to learn all the tricks and secrets from his uncle Hugo in order to make the best ice cream. And he has followed in their footsteps and opened his first ice cream parlour in Amsterdam in the year 2017. From the first weekend on people were queuing up for his delicious ice cream creations. And in the summer of 2020 the star gelato maker opened his third branch in Amsterdam. Two things are very important to him, firstly the Italian sealed stainless-steel cylinders containing the ice. "Ice cream is very fragile and unstable, just like us humans." The hygienc water-cooled cylinders maintain the quality and ensure a minimum temperature shock when the lid is removed. Secondly fresh ingredients are most important. For instance, the organic milk comes from one especially selected farm only, the chocolate is directly from Venezuela, the lemons and pistachios are from Sicily – and of course he roasts these pistachios and all of the nuts himself. From the enormous list of ice creams and sorbets, Massimo Bertonasco presents the most popular in Gelato! Gelato! All of which can be easily prepared at home. The recipes are accompanied by warm hearted memories and anecdotes from his family. And his niece, the artist Larissa, captures the colourful range of flavours with her sensual illustrations and makes you long not only for the mouth making ice creams, but also for Italy.
