Delicious UK - (08)August 2020

MEET THE STAR GRADUATE

FROM GELATO UNIVERSITY

Yes,thereisa universityforaspiringmakersofgelato,thedreamyItalianversionofice

cream,anditguidedBrunoFortetowardsa successfulUKbusinessanda topnational

accolade for his product. But the Swoon story begins earlier, in the family trattoria

B

runoForte(adistantrelative

ofRocco)canpinpointthe

momentheknewgelatowas

hisfuture.“Itooka courseatthe

GelatoUniversityinBologna,and

thefirstmorningI wasamazedby

whatweweremakingandtasting,”

hesays.“Itwasa ‘wow’moment.”

Brunohaddecidedtotakethe

courseafteryearsinhospitality–

runninghotelsinLondon,thenback

inthefamilytrattoriainSwanage,

setupbyhisgrandfatherin1970.

“Gelatohasalwaysbeeninthe

family,”hesays.“Buttherewasn’t

a productoutthereasgoodasmy

grandfatherusedtomake.”

Enthusedbyhistraining,Bruno

returnedtotheUKandsetupthe

firstSwoongelateriawithhis

familyinBristolin 2016 – wifeAna-

Maria,mumLouiseandsisterPat

areallinvolved– beforeopening

twomore,inBathandOxford(sad

foranyonewhodoesn’tliveinthe

vicinitybutworthmakinga detour

towardsif you’repassing).

It’sbeena rapidrise,whichis

onlylikelytogatherpaceafter

Swoon’snocciola(hazelnut)gelato

wasnamedSupremeChampion

atthe 2019 GreatTasteAwards,

wherethejudgesravedaboutits

“smoothandsupercreamy” texture

andpureflavour.

“Ourgelatois softandsilky

becausewechurnit slowlyand

keepwatercrystalsmicroscopic,”

explainsBruno.“Alotoficecream

is made using pastes, which are

oftenhighinadditivesand

stabilisers.Wemakeourswith

freshingredients– milkfrom

Somerset,hazelnutsfrom a small

farminPiedmont...”

TheBristolandBathshopshave

theirowngelato‘labs’butSwoon

alsohasa centralproductionsitein

Bristol,whichsuppliesfreshlymade

mixtotheothershops, where it’s

churnedonsite.

AftertheGreatTastewin,sales

increasedby 20 percent.Butthen

Covid19struck,closingallthree

outletsinMarch.Bristolreopened

inMayusingDeliverooandClick&

Collect,laterservingfromthe

doorway,andBathandOxfordgot

churningshortlyafterwards.“We

openedoneshopata time,tomake

surewegotit right,”saysBruno.

“Thatfirstweekend,themachine

wentwildfromthemomentwe

opened.Therewerepeoplewaiting

forustoopenthedoors, which

wassogoodtosee.”

Re-creatingthefreshgelato

experienceinsealedtubsfor

retailis trickier(“werefuseto

compromiseonflavourortexture,”

saysBruno)butrecipeshavebeen

finalised,withplanstointroduce

a rangeinfarmshopsanddelis

laterthisyear.AndBruno’s

ambitionsdon’tstopthere.

“We’dlikeSwoontobeonhigh

streetsaroundtheUK– for

it tobeyourlocalgelateria.”

Grandfatherwouldapprove.

Visit swoononaspoon.co.uk

THEGELATOSECRET

Ittypicallyhas 50 percentlessfat

thanicecreambutgelatotastes

creamierbecauseofhowit’smade:

slowchurninginsteadofrapid

beating, with little air incorporated

84 deliciousmagazine.co.uk

WORDS: PATRICK MCGUIGAN. ADDITIONAL WORDS: PHOEBE STONE. PHOTOGRAPHS: RICHARD FAULKS

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