pistachioononesideanda pieceof
orangepeelontheotherside.For
me,that’stheperfectcannoli.”
Aswellascannoli,Achillebakes
a rotatingselectionofpastriesmore
esotericallySicilian:flakyshellsof
citrus-spikedsfogliatelle;sfinci,rustic
doughnut-likeballs;custardydoughnut
spiralsknownascartocci;andravioli
dolci,richcrescentsofleavenedpastry
filledwithsweetricottaanddeep-fried.
Butnoteverythingat CannoliBar
aimsforstrictauthenticity.Carlobelieves
ininclusiveness,thatthereshouldbe
a cannolotopleaseeveryone.
“Weareverytraditional,butwealso
wanttoplaywithflavours,”hesays.“We
didn’twantCannoliBartobea place
whereyouhadtobeItaliantolikeit.”
Lemonmeringue.Blueberry
cheesecake.Baci.Lamington.While
there’snoshortageofSicilianclassics
toperfect,thesekindsofcrowd-pleasing
flavourcombinationsletAchilleexercise
hisflairforinventiveness.“I amstarting
toputmyexperienceandmycreativity
ontopofthecannoli,”hesays.“I make
15, 20 differentkinds– myideais
tohavea shelfofcannolilikethe
Frenchhavetheéclair.”
Thelocalfoodculturehaschanged
a lot in the past two decades. When theMellinisfirstarrivedinAustralia,real
Italianfoodwasa rarity.“Intheyear
2000,therewasnoSanDaniele
prosciuttoinAustralia,”saysCarlo.
“Youdidn’thaveyourDOCs,your
400 Gradis.If youwantedItalianfood,
youhadtogotoplaceslikeLaPorchetta.”
Today,hesays,Australiansnot
onlyappreciateItalianflavours,they
understandthatthere’sa difference
betweenRomancuisineandwhatyou’d
eatinTuscany.TospecialiseinSicilian
pastriesis nolongeranobscureniche- it’sa callingcard.“Nowit’stheera
oftheregional.Asa migrant,youbring
yourculturewithyouandyouwantto
showit totheworld.Mygrandfather
wasfromCatania,mydadwasborn
inCatania.Wewanttobringback
thatSicilianfeeling.”
Thebiggestbuzzhegetsis when
a nonnoornonnacomesintolean
onthebarandeata Sicilianbrioche
withalmondgranitaortakehome
a caseoffreshlyfilledricottacannoli.
“They’rethepioneersofItalian
cultureinthiscountry,”saysCarlo.
“Whenwegetthestampofapproval
fromtheoldergeneration,it always
makesusproud.”
CannoliBar, 23 RivieraRd,Avondale
Heights, Vic, (03) 9337 7049●
74 GOURMET TRAVELLER
Clockwisefromtopleft:Achilleand
CarloMellinibehindthebar;CarloMellini
seniorinthe1970s;fillinga cannolo;the
CannoliBarsitein1966;ricottacartocci
with pistachio nuts; From Sicily with Love.