Gelati Dream

 Five years ago I was introduced to the fantasy land of gelato known as "Gelati Aloha". The peach coloured building set back from the road in Mirabella, a tiny town some 1.5 hours from the Amalfi Coast, seemed like a mirage in the middle of nowhere. The front courtyard, furnished with small tables and chairs, invites customers to sit and savour their sweet purchase. Inside, the sparkling clean and spacious store features a curvaceous counter displaying no less than 60 mouth watering flavours of artisan gelato. One half consists of fruit selections like mandarine, indian fig, kiwi, raspberry, lichee, and tangy lemon while the other contains creamy, milk based options with intersting combinations such as    Hazlenut, liquorice, rum baba, kinder surprise, chestnut and creme caramel. In the right corner stands a large fridge displaying a wide variety of fruits that have been hulled and refilled with gelato made from the pulp. Bite size strawberries, dates, walnuts, figs and lemons are filled with their icy gelato. All of this is the result of the passion and dreams of founder, Generoso Losanno.

Generoso's childhood involved a simple family life in Mirabella. A dreamy child who had little interest and joy in attending school, he trained as a mechanic and commenced work in a factory. As time passed he set about gathering information on how things worked, how the business was run, how things operated. His accrued knowledge fueled his passion and dream to start his own gelato business. Driven by this vision, he acquired a broken table-top ice cream churning machine and worked diligently in his spare time to return it to working order. Once up and running, he then labored for 72 hours non-stop to produce enough gelato to launch his new gelato store. Aiming to launch on Easter weekend some 25 years ago, Generoso produced enough gelato to give the town's people free samples of the product he believed was the best ever made. Impressing the crowds, his business grew and his gelato store thrived. With a strong will and determined drive his business grew and grew, catering to the restaurant and hotel sector. From its humble beginnings to its present day his journey has always been forward. Today, he sells 1.5 million kilograms of gelato annually across Italy, into London and now the US. 

We were lucky to meet Generoso through a private wine tour guide who I asked to arrange a gelato making demonstration for us. Before I knew it, we were sitting at a table with the owner of the business. Filling in time before his arrival, we treated ourselves to a gelato of three flavors in fresh waffle cones. As usual, the fresh ingredients shone through  and the smooth texture was sublime. When Generoso arrived for our meeting, he sat at our table and was immediately served an impressive sized bowl of creamy flavoured gelato. Realizing he couldn't speak English, I tentatively began asking him questions in Italian about the ingredients he worked with. Two questions in, I was struck by the awkward silence that followed. He seemed entranced by the bowl in front of him. Only looking forward, he spooned the ice cream slowly and methodically into his mouth, tilting his head back slightly after each mouthful, as if in paradise. I was a bit perplexed at first, wondering if I was simply being a nuisance or perhaps not phrasing my questions correctly. He muttered a few short answers then stood up and left the table. Our Italian guide assured us that he was extremely impressed by the content of my questions and was just arranging some more gelato for us to sample. He returned to the table with an air of happiness and soon an enormous tray of gelato-filled cups arrived in numerous flavors. He insisted we try each one and joyfully watched us as he shared his story. He revealed he ate four gelatos a day and treasured each one, quite remarkable given his lean build. 

Gelato is and always has been his passion. Sourcing high quality, local ingredients (wherever possible) has always been a priority. Experimenting and innovating new flavours and product lines has also been a key ongoing commitment. The use of vegetables like carrot, celery and cucumber has featured in his product lines as has nuts of many varieties. He explains his key ingredients are fruit, milk and loads of passion.

Taken by our genuine fascination in his product, innovations and story he took us under his wing and lead us behind the scenes of his nearby factory and further afield to his office and distribution centre. There he treated us to nutella brioche in his "happy corner" of the well-stocked staff room (like we needed more 'treating') and later donned a ski jacket before ducking into a freezing cool room to fetch us a sample of his boxed product ready to be shipped off-shore. The three hour experience culminated in his private office. A black leather chair was positioned behind a humble glass desk. Walls were adorned with awards, certificates and photos (including a framed photo of Generoso and the Pope sitting alongside a father's day painting from his child). Generoso wanted to emphasise what a 'normal' and humble family-loving person he was. He invited us to his family home for lunch for the next time we visited. 

Seeming not to want the evening to end, he began serenading us with traditional Italian tunes while strumming his guitar that was a permanent fixture against his office wall. Piling our arms full of boxed treats it was time for our visit to end and farewells to be given to a man we'd only just met but who now felt like a friend. 

Generoso is a wonderful, young hearted and passionate man unafraid of hard work and unflinching in his vision to grow his gelato empire. He truly is an inspiration and Italy should feel proud.