Join us in welcoming SubZero Gelato to Perth Upmarket. Founder and Gelato Chef Janneke reveals the story behind SubZero Gelato
So how did it all begin for SubZero Gelato?
It all began about ten years ago when I applied for a role at a young and vibrant Gelato company in the Netherlands. Although I didn’t have any affinity with Gelato itself back then, the opportunity was a new and exciting challenge I just couldn’t turn down. Within the first year of training, my love for Gelato was born.
In the following years, I studied to become a Gelato chef, went on to become the manager of gelato production for 8 franchise gelato shops and became the shop manager of one of the biggest Gelato stores in the Netherlands, which would you believe had 48 different flavours in store at all times!
Although I had found my passion, there was another dream that kept popping into our lives, a wish to live in beautiful Australia.
Two years ago we realised this dream, made the move and settled into our new home and lives. I was very fortunate to be able to continue my passion for Gelato here, as I quickly found a job as a shop manager in a small gelato shop.
My life was filled with so much joy but it didn’t quite feel complete, I was missing something!
I needed a new challenge and I knew it had to be within the Gelato world so it became time to realise a little dream of mine, opening up our own shop. With the support of my husband Robin, family and friends, we were able to start our Gelato shop “on wheels” in March 2018.
Tell us a little bit about the challenges you faced upon starting your own Gelato shop.
SubZero Gelato is handcrafted from the base up by me. Achieving the depth of flavour and taste in the gelato that I have in my head has been and still is the biggest challenge. I am passionate about using local produce so I spent a lot of time sourcing all the different ingredients and products locally.
Another challenge I faced was stepping out of my “European” mind set, a simple example is the renaming of flavours like “Stacciatella”, hardly anyone in Australia knows that name, but they do know Choc chip, both the same flavour, but “Stracciatella” doesn’t sell!
Why did you choose to become a pop-up stall rather than having a brick and mortar store?
My vision is to interact with my guests, make them part of my journey and share the passion, making my journey visible and accessible for my guests. I occasionally helped out friends at the night food markets and instantly knew that a pop up was the way to achieve this interaction.
What flavours did you decide to introduce at your first pop-up event?
Blueberry Cheesecake, Italian Hazelnut, Mascarpone Orange, Cherry Mania, Lemon Sorbet, Mango Sorbet, Strawberry Sorbet, Vanilla, Chocolate, Cookies (American style), Choc Mint and Salted Caramel.
What are your most popular flavours?
Mascarpone Orange, Chocolate (with extra chocolate bits in it) and Mango Sorbet.
What are your greatest flavour inspirations?
Daily life, going for a walk, sights, smells the flowers the trees. Often when we are out for dinner and enjoying a dessert, we wonder would that combination work in in a gelato? Would it taste good? What do we need to do to make it work?
And of course input from our friends, they love to share their ideas with us, so basically we are always busy creating new flavor combinations and ideas.
We also enjoy themed flavours, so for Valentines Day we created a one off flavour that hasd a nice red colour with a sweet flavour that a couple would love to eat together. So it’s not just about the flavor, it’s also about the experience and the story. We try to combine them all.
Do you have any exciting new creations for our Perth Upmarket shopper’s to look forward to?
We recently developed “Pandan Coconut”, a very unknown flavour for me, which was a bit scary and challenging. But with a critical test panel, we managed to nail it and will be expanding the new flavour with some new delicious homemade varieties.
We are always experimenting and coming up with new combo’s. We are always so thrilled to see the smiles that our passion creates, on the faces of our guests. So drop by our stall at the next Perth Upmarket say hi and check out the latest flavours – we know you’ll love them as much as we do.
To find out more about SubZero Gelato click here
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