Like me, Gunther Rohregger
is an adopted Roman! He moved here for love from northern Italy’s Alto Adige (a region still on my bucket list). He is a gelato chef. A chef because he creates and honours produce in an innovative way that really makes your palate come alive.
Not all gelato in Rome is equal and this is real gelato (by the way, not ice cream!) with real ingredients. No flavour powders or syrups, but the real deal. So when you eat the peach flavour gelato, it tastes like you’re eating a peach; hazelnut flavour tastes like real hazelnuts because – you guessed it – it is made from real hazelnuts. In this case, not just any hazelnuts but prized ones from the Langhe region in Piedmont. They use Fonte Plose water, bottled water that is taken from the springs of Alto Adige and is renowned for being the purist water in Europe. And the milk is sourced from an organic producer in Cremona.
This is real Made in Italy and in sourcing the best ingredients from around the world, honours this motto because Gunther’s gelato production is true to quality.
You’re getting the drift. The theme here is best quality and gourmet ingredients.
I was able to experience the best of his showcase at a vertical gelato tasting at the Piazza di Sant’Eustacchio location (right by Piazza Navona).
This fancy name for a tasting basically meant I took a trip around the world with Gunther. We tasted flavours like buffalo milk and pink peppercorns, alpine milk and pine tree essence, chocolates from Peru and Tanzania. Then there was tiramisu (made with real savoiardi), buffalo milk with lemon sauce and mentuccia (lesser calamint), ricotta with pear sauce and cocoa chips, ricotta with strawberry sauce and balsamic vinegar, caramel with Himalayan salt and I’ll stop right there. If chocolate is your thing, be prepared to have a difficult decision on your hands. The chocolate is sourced from Turin chocolate house, Domori and they exclusively sell Aruba Ecuador chocolate beans to Gunther which make them the only producer of this flavour.Gunther says to make gelato artigianale (artisanal), you need passion and love. This can literally be tasted and seen in the 40 flavours he produces daily.
Go and taste for yourself in two Rome locations:
Gunther Gelato Italiano
Piazza di Sant’Eustachio 47 (Pantheon / Piazza Navona)
Via dei Pettinari 43 (Campo de Fiori / Trastevere)
Open 10:00am-2:00am daily
(Closing earlier in the winter months)
You can also download their phone app which will help you choose your perfect flavour combination. More info on their website here.
Signing off from Trastevere
Baci, Maria