Who doesn’t like ice cream? Yes, we agree that Adelaide has had a particularly harsh winter, and we’ve had to raid our closets for all the layers that we could possibly wrap around ourselves to keep warm. But here’s the thing – we did just that and made our way to this small but quaint little factory that is located less than 15 minutes out of the CBD to sample some of the best gelato that we have had – in preparation for getting your summer fix sorted!

Gelista is a small, family-run business that specialises in making different flavours of gelato in small batches. Using ‘batch-freezing technology’, Gelista comes up with some OCD-pleasing creamy textures of ice cream that is made with a combination of milk and fruit (most of which is locally sourced within South Australia).

Having been around for well over 6 years now (and nearing their 7th birthday), Gelista has made it big by offering their products to some of the leading and most successful chefs all over the country. They are now renowned for making over 25 flavours, which are available in supermarkets for the public to feast on.

The team at Adelaide Food Central was invited to celebrate the release of the newest consumer range, and also take a tour around the Gelista factory. All food and drink was provided free of charge.

The tour started off with the people from the media being seated to watch a short clip that explained the story of how Gelista came into existence. I particularly loved how Gelista takes pride in using SA-grown raw ingredients in their products.

We were then given what I’d like to name the ‘shock-freeze’ tour, where we entered into a freezer room and saw the many, many batches of gelato that had been freshly made only a couple of days ago and were undergoing the final stages of production.

We were also treated to a live gelato-making session, where we saw the production of Marble Hill Cherry Ripe gelato! We were also fortunate to sample the gelato, and despite doing the unthinkable in the heart of Australian winter, we had some fresh-frozen, super creamy gelato and absolutely loved it!

Special thanks to the staff at Gelista and to Tony Polese and Maddy Broadbridge from Eventalaide for organising and hosting the event – we look forward to see Gelista scoop up more success this year and for years to come!

Words by Fatema Sitabkhan

WHERE: 22 Forster St, Ridleyton