The cool quotient of the Queen of the Arabian Sea has got cooler over the past two years. Artisanal ice-cream, whipped up right under the customer’s gaze, is a super-specialty at Melto Creamery in Nedumbassery with their signature gold and silver ice-cream rolls; the gold version is Rs 1,000 per serving. Cold Stone Creamery has an entertainment director who takes patrons on a customised tour of creamistas doing ice-cream jigs. Then IT professional Samir Joseph entered the scene to become a sweetpreneur with a difference. After working in blue chip companies such as Wipro and Tech Mahindra for seven years, he has brought Italian gelatos to the city, containing only about 4 to 9 per cent fat as opposed to ice-cream with between 14 and 25 per cent butterfat.
Samir started Cream Craft in partnership with entrepreneur cousins Shaju, Sunny, Shibu and Josemon in March. Since then, Kochi has never seen a gelato-like it. Cousins Samir and Josemon Mathew, joined the Carpigiani-Gelato University at Bologna, 375 km from Rome for a week-long ice-cream-making course late last year. Being a corporate sponsored specialist university, the first sight that greeted Samir when he stepped into the classroom was the huge Carpigiani logo in blue dominating one wall.
“Alongside were large images of gelato ice-cream. People with different accents were talking excitedly. I was witnessing a confluence of cultures,” says the 34-year-old. His classmates were from all across the world—America, Canada, Britain, Iceland, France, Australia, Sri Lanka, China and of course India. During the morning hours, Samir and Josemon studied various gelato mixes, ingredients and recipes for ice-creams as well as store design and business models. After 3 pm, daily practical classes were held, supervised by an instructor and two assistants.
“I learned that while regular ice-cream is stored at -18° Celsius, the ideal temperature for keeping gelato is -14°Celsius. Its texture is very different from ice cream, being smoother and creamier,” he says.
Back in Kochi, Samir started the groundwork to open the city’s first authentic gelato cafe. “We imported a batch of gelato essence, a display freezer, and a pasteuriser from Carpigiani, which is one of the largest companies in the world manufacturing gelato-making equipment,” he adds.
Samir believes experiments are a reason behind his success. “We make gelato using biryani spices. Cream Craft has flavours such as popcorn, doughnut, rasmalai, and carrot halwa. The strategy has paid off. Regular customer Nizzwa says, “They have all sorts of flavours, from laddu to blueberry cheesecake. It keeps changing every day.”
Memories nudge people to the past on discoveries of cause and effect. Says Samir remembering a childhood scene, “On a Sunday afternoon two decades ago, my elder sister Sunita and I were watching our father hand-mixing a cake batter. There were no beaters at that time.” They joined in, and the togetherness became a family memory. “Desserts remind me of family love. Perhaps, it’s the reason I am making gelato now.”(Average cost: `200 for two people plus taxes. Door 43/3063, NH Bypass Service Road, Chakkalakal, Palarivattom, Kochi)