Thecrunchy shell
giveswaytoa
shockofcold,
cloud-like ricotta
cream– this
kindofcannolo
is a revelation.GOURMET TRAVELLER 73It wasinAvondaleHeightsthatthe
Mellinifamilyfirstsettledwhenthey
cametoAustralia,travellingfromRome
toMelbournein 2000 sothatAchille
Mellinicouldtakeupa jobasa pastry
chefat BrunettionFaradayStreet.
It is inAvondaleHeightsthat,nearly
twodecadeslater,hisson,Carlo,has
openeda neighbourhoodcannolificio,
a cannolibar,dedicatedalmostentirely
totheclassicSicilianpastry.
Carlowasoriginallyheadedfor
a careerinarchitecture,buta stint
workingfront-of-houseat Brunettigave
hima tasteforthefamilytrade.When
it cametoopeningCannoliBar,heand
hisbusinesspartner,AnthonyCalenda,
wantedtodosomethingthatreflected
boththeirSicilianheritageandtheir
Australianupbringing.Whenthey
foundanoldmilkbarforsaleonone
ofAvondaleHeights’residentialstreets,
everythingclickedintoplace.
“I’vealwayslikedtheideaof
backstreetcafésinMelbourne’sinner
suburbs,”saysCarlo.“It’spartof
Melbourne’sculture,thatloveofhidden
places.Atonepointwethoughtmaybe
weshouldjustbea normalcafé,but
it cametothedaywhenwewantedto
registerthebusinessandwejust said,
stuff it – let’s do cannoli.”
CannoliBaris a homeysortof
place,fittedouttorecalla mid-century
Italo-Australianespressobar.Upfront
is a neatcounterwhereCarlomakes
coffeeandgranita;nexttothatis
a largedisplaycasestackedwithcrisp,
goldencannolishells,freshfromthe
deep-fryerandleftunfilled.Outthe
back,Achilleandhiswife,Vincenza,
whois alsoanaccomplishedpastry
chef,overseethekitchen.
“Lotsofshopsmakecannoli, but
thisoneis verydifferent,”
saysAchille.Heapologises
forhisEnglish,whichhe
describesas “notvery
perfect”– helearnedthe
languageinhis30safter
arrivinginAustralia,by
coachingchildren’ssoccer
teams.Becauseofthis,his
conversationhasa certain
poeticflair.“Fora long
timeinAustralia,the
cannoliis sleeping,”heexplains.
“AlotofpeoplethinkthatAustralians
don’tlikethericotta,sotheyjustmake
vanillaorchocolate.Nothingwith
decoration;verysimple,veryplain.”
AtCannoliBar,theyareproving
thisassumptionwrong.TheClassico- made with an ethereally crunchy outer
shelltastingfaintlyofsultana,which
giveswaytoa shockofcold,cloud-like
ricottacream– is easilytheirmost
popularflavour.
Whatseparatesa Mellinicannolo
fromitsgenericcounterpartcomes
downtotwothings:ingredientsand
timing.It’snotuntilsomeoneplaces
anorderthatit is pipedwithfilling,
andit’sthismade-to-orderapproach
thatdeliverstheidealcannolo:the
ricottaasvelvetysmoothastheshellis
crisp.Forthosewho’veonlyevertried
theslightlysoggycream-filledconcoctions
foundinsupermarkets,thiskindof
cannolois a revelation.
Achille,a third-generationpastry
chef,knowshiswayarounda pasticceria.
Whenhewasgrowingup,hisfamily
identifiedstronglyasSicilian.Hisfather
spokeonlytheSiciliandialectrather
thanItalian,evenaftertheyrelocated
toRometoworkinthefamilybusiness,
PasticceriaMellini.Oncomingto
Australia,Achilledidstintsat Brunetti
andGrossiFlorentinoasheadpastry
chef.Later,herananItalianbakeryin
FlemingtoncalledDolcee Pane.Cannoli
Barsignifiesa returntohisroots,tothe
Sicilianrecipespasseddownthroughhis
family.A respectfortheregion’sproduce
andtraditionsis deeplyingrainedinhim.
Gettingit rightmatters.
“I don’tchangeanything.If I don’t
havethecorrectingredients,I don’tmake
it,” he says. Heimportsstone-ground
Maiorcaflourandsweet
MarsalawinefromSicily;
hisgranita,servedin
storethetraditionalway
withsweetbrioche,is
madefromalmondsor
pistachionutsshipped
fromtheSiciliantown
ofBronte.If hewantsto
useorangeorlemonzest,
he’llwalkthenearby
streetsofAvondale
Heightstobuyfruitgrownbythelocals,
“Becauseit’sorganicanddoesn’thavethe
poison!”hesays.He’sevenmanagedto
sourcesheep’smilkricotta– a rarityin
Australia– froma localVictorianfarm.
“InSicily,that’sthericottathatthey
use,”explainsCarlo.“Ithastobesheep
ricotta, and it should be decorated with➤