“Artisanal gelato follows three rules,” Francesco Carboni says. Sitting across from him, I feel like I should be taking notes. He scratches his chin thoughtfully. Pause. I can’t take it, I’ve already seen a scoop of stracciatella, and for me, artisanal gelato follows one rule. It must be savoured. Now.
“First, it’s made in small batches — five, 10 litres maximum. Second, it must be less than 10% fat. Ours is only 3% since this is a tropical region. Third, low overrun. Must be creamy.” Definitely should have started taking notes.
“Our gelato is all natural,” he says with pride, gesturing to the pastels of the fruit flavours — mango, strawberry, pomegranate and coconut are in constant demand. “We wake up, find fruit in the market, and decide our menu from there.”
He offers me a bite, finally. It’s February, but the mango is fresh summer succulence. I prod him for his secret, but he just smiles. “We have our ways.”
We’re in the kitchen of the original Gelato Factory in Auroville. Two looming machines are whirring and a fuchsia pomegranate gelato pours out. One is exclusively for yellow bases, inclusive of egg yolks, while the other is for the ‘white’ base, the vegetarian flavours.
Regardless, they’re all organic, inspired by Carboni’s mentor Roberto Torani’s gelateria in Rome.
“His shop is called Gelato Divino, which could mean two things: divine, and with wine,” Carboni laughs heartily. “We do both,” he says, leaning closer. “The alcohol flavours, they’re my Italian speciality. Don’t tell anyone though,” he whispers conspiratorially, as I sneak a spoonful of rich sabayon with a dollop of their amaretto di sorono. “We can’t produce enough, I’d go bankrupt!”
Auroville is home ground for Carboni. Coming from a background of organic goods and fair trade, he was managing herbal apothecaries in Rome. He produced catalogues, studied Ayurveda, and visited Auroville every year like clockwork. “It was a dream, that life,” he reminisces.
A scoop of gelato infused with Japanese sake at Rome’s Gelateria del Teatro enticed him. “The values that I’ve carried with me, they’re the same. We are what we eat, simply put.” His dream materialised in 2015, when he opened the first Gelato Factory in Auroville.
“We make approximately 1,000 litres a month now,” he calculates. They’re all made in the 15-seater café in Auroville, though the expansion of the brand has been enormous. “We have a Puducherry branch and two franchise locations — one in Chennai, and another in Thiruvannamalai, and we also supply to the Auroville Visitors Centre and about 15 other restaurants in Auroville as well,” he says, holding up a 250ml takeaway container holding his latest creation: strawberry-champagne. It sits next to the tallest stack in the batch: Ferrero Rocher.
“The nut-based flavours, they sell the fastest. See, we import all our nuts from Italy and, well, who can resist the chocolate-nut combination?” He’s not wrong — the case holds Ferrero-Rocher, gianduja, nutella, and those are only the hazelnut infusions. The aromatic scent is unmissable, the taste just as strong. “Most places here, they just mix in chopped nuts. We make our pastes with the nuts so that the flavour really seeps through.”
Half of the offerings are vegan, including a vegan chocolate that relies solely on cocoa butter for its velvety texture. It’s even better than the signature chocolate, but it’s not the only vegan-friendly option.
“The fruit flavours are all non-dairy as well, but they’re not sorbetti. Not for Italians anyway.” Technicalities aside, they’re refreshing, though a rare white truffle vies for my attention.
There are exceptional flavours and my colleague’s eyes widen as she tastes a mango-vanilla combination. “Good,” Carboni nods decisively. “We aspire for perfection and balance. In gelato, and in life.”
For Chennai's dessert lovers, Gelato Factory's delicacies can be found at The English Tea Room in Alwarpet.
