Amanti del gelato e dell’aperitivo, abbiamo la creazione perfetta del gelato estivo per te!

Ice-cream and Aperol Spritz lovers, we have the perfect summer ice-cream creation for you!

 

We all have a special memory that reminds us of summer. This unique memory is something that brings us together with our loved ones, and fills us with the warming feeling of nostalgia. For my family and I, this special memory involves the Italian tradition of Aperitivo time – a ritual signified by sharing an Aperol Spritz with friends, while enjoying a platter or share plates of cicchetti or antipasto with cheese, olives, cured meats and artisan breads.

With summer just around the corner for my New Zealand family, I wanted to create a special, refreshing summer treat that incorporates the Giapo third narrative of ice-cream and culture. In essence, I wanted to create a refreshing summer ice-cream for our customers.

The ‘Aperitivo’!

Those who regularly follow these blog posts will know that here at Giapo we follow the third narrative of ice-cream. This involves changing the function of ice-cream through innovation, creativity, ingenuity and science, rather than simply cultivating new flavours. We achieve this through the belief that art can change the world, and we apply this concept to our ice-cream creations. In the past, we have offered unique experiences to our customers by creating ice sculptures such as the Auckland Sky Tower, Wearable Ice-Cream, and our famous Colossal Squid. Innovation and ingenuity is at the forefront of all our creations, and this is what helps us change how people experience ice-cream. While we often think outside the box and aim to produce never-before-seen creations, for our newest creation, we decided to collaborate with a special partner and friend. This collaboration reflects Giapo’s heritage, and is a salute to summer. 

Photo credit: @rachelhadlow

Over the years, I have been lucky enough to work with amazing people who have helped bring my dream of Giapo and changing the function of ice-cream to fruition. However, this is one of our most exciting collaborations to date. Aperol Spritz recently reached out to me, asking if we would be interested in collaborating to create an ice-cream for summer. I was extremely excited for this opportunity, as it reflects Giapo’s heritage in several ways. Aperol has been part of my life for a very long time, and was the first alcoholic beverage I remember drinking. When I think back to my family and what always brought us together, Aperol Spritz is one of the first things that comes to mind. Some of the most meaningful memories that I have made with my family have involved Aperol Spritz. So, when the Aperol team contacted me, I immediately thought about creating the ultimate summer ice-cream that would bring people together and create meaningful memories. We called the Giapo & Aperol Spritz ice-cream ‘Aperitivo’.

The creation process began after Aperol initially reached out to me. Following this, we met the team and discussed the potential creations we could make in the Giapo kitchen. The idea was to create an aperitif in a cone. We were very excited about this creation, as it is one of the few times we have started creating a new ice-cream knowing that it would work. We knew that this collaboration would work, because we knew exactly what we wanted the ice-cream to taste like,  which was extremely helpful when it came to trial and error. My wife Annarosa and I worked on the creation for a few weeks before we were confident in calling the ice-cream a finished product. We began the creation by doing initial samplings of Aperol Spritz and then adding the sorbet with a few secret ingredients to strengthen the desired flavour. We were able to balance the different flavours by incorporating the taste of Aperol Spritz before making it into a sorbet. Of course, like most Giapo ice-creams, there were unique techniques used for this creation, which involved designing a special cone with chips surrounding the exterior, which we then dipped in chocolate. However, as always, we did experience a few difficulties – the main one being able to make the sorbet really taste like Aperol Spritz. To overcome this, we first made a few drawings before creating some samples. We then met with the Aperol team and taste tested the samples we had created, before picking one that we liked. Because this ice-cream creation means a lot to Annarosa and I, we wanted to make the Aperol Spritz ice-cream flavour perfect. Therefore, we took our time and worked alongside the Aperol team to ensure the finished product was indeed perfect. One of my favourite things about our creation process is that I am lucky enough to always learn something new. In this instance, I learnt how to incorporate botanicals into ice-cream. I also gained knowledge about new science and technological processes, as I had to learn about the freezing point of alcohol.

Photo credit: @marydtn

As ‘aperitivo’ is an Italian take on happy hour, our Giapo team decided to mix ice-cream and the traditional drink together to create an aperitivo in a cone. After countless hours spent planning the creation and making it perfect, we were able to create an Aperol flavoured sorbet-base that is embellished with typical antipasto platter elements. This aspect of the ice-cream brings together Aperol Spritz and the Giapo twist of innovation, ingenuity and creativity that we incorporate in our ice-creams. The cone is topped with white chocolate covered potato chips, offering our customers a sweet and savory crunch. However, it doesn’t stop there, as olives are added to the cone, which is then finished off with a chocolate button sporting the Aperol Spritz logo.

Photo credit: @lewolfnoir

When creating a new ice-cream at Giapo, the main concern on our team’s mind is how to change the way our customers experience ice-cream. Our motto is “art can change the world”, and we always strive to follow the third narrative, which involves changing the function of ice-cream. Therefore, we always strive to change more than just a flavour of ice-cream – we want our customers to interact with our products, to appreciate the food for being more than an edible item, and changing their perspectives on food and art as a whole. This creation reflects these goals as it has been crafted with innovation, science and technology, and the drive to carry out our goals. This creates a new reality for our customers, changing the way they experience ice-cream by allowing them to come to Giapo for an aperitivo, rather than going to a bar. 

One of the most exciting things about this collaboration and creation for me was the heart, soul and sense of nostalgia that was built into the masterpiece. As Giapo lovers will know, I always try to incorporate a cultural aspect into my art. However, these cultural aspects are usually inspired by New Zealand and Māori traditions. Therefore, I was incredibly excited to create an ice-cream that was born out of my love for the authentic Italian classic aperitif. 

 After moving to New Zealand, a lot changed for my family and I. However, one thing that stayed the same was our traditional weekly gathering over some Aperol Spritz. This is a tradition that has followed me to the other side of the world and has stayed close to my heart. Therefore, I could not wait to share my take on the traditional drink, which I wanted to reflect the art of aperitivo time and what it means to my family and I. I wanted to convey the aperitivo theme of bringing the people you love together and celebrating the joy of life. 

This new creation and the opportunity to collaborate with an organisation such as Aperol Spritz has allowed me to not only change the function of ice-cream for Giapo customers, but also create something fun, unique and unusual to try when visiting Auckland. All of our Giapo creations give customers an out of the ordinary ice-cream experience, whether they treat themselves to an ice-cream sculpture, wear their ice-cream on their fingers, or play with the dessert before eating it. But now, they can enjoy a cool summer treat, inspired by the all-time summer favourite drink – Aperol Spritz. Through our ice-cream collaboration, we have embraced Italian culture, and created an extraordinary summer creation for all of our customers to enjoy. 

This ice-cream extravaganza was released last week and will be staying on our menu until February 2020, so pop in and try our special Italian inspired summer ice-cream!

 Saluti!