La Gelatiera Summer Pop-Up at Mercante in Mayfair, London

I’m excited to share the news of my collaboration with Mayfair restaurant Mercante and artisan gelato makers La Gelatiera. Both are based in London and specialised in Italian food made with authentic and high quality ingredients.

As part of my collaboration with their teams of tastemakers, I will get to create a new gelato flavour that will be served exclusively at Mercante this summer. I will tell you more about this in a few weeks as well as share photos of my workshops with Mercante’s Head Chef Davide D’Ignazio and with La Gelatiera’s gelato makers.

Mercante and La Gelatiera are partnering for the whole summer to bring the taste of Italian gelato to Mayfair and to present some unique flavours, such as pear & ricotta, Campari & blood orange, and Pan e Nutella (bread & Nutella marbled). The retro-style ice-cream cart is parked outside the restaurant, on Mercante’s summer terrace overlooking Green Park, and will be there until September (open from 12-6pm each day). So if you are near Mayfair, Hyde Park or Piccadilly Circus you are within a short walking distance to experience some of one of London’s best Italian gelato. You can go for a cup of gelato to eat on the go or sit down in the terrace to enjoy it.

The gelato at La Gelatiera is exclusively made with natural ingredients. It is gelato is prepared fresh, with seasonal flavours, which do not contain any flavourings or colourings.

The launch of Mercante X La Gelatiera took place at the end of May. I had the pleasure to be there and taste some of their classic flavours like dark chocolate sorbet and new ones like Pan e Nutella. I absolutely love their gelato; it’s creamy and has a rich taste. I particularly loved the Campari and Blood Orange Sorbet, a refreshing ice cream for a hot summer day.

A few weeks later I was back at Mercante, this time for lunch with my friend Federica. As part of the Mercante X La Gelatiera collaboration, the restaurant’s Head Chef Davide D’Ignazio has developed an innovative 3-course ice-cream pairing menu showcasing exclusive flavour combinations.

We started our lunch with a Panzanella salad, a traditional southern Italian dish made with bread croutons mixed with tomatoes and soaked in their juice. Mercante’s version was prepared with fresh garlic tomato juice and cherry vinegar and served with extra virgin olive oil gelato. It’s a great dish where the sweetness and a hint of acidity of the tomatoes is paired wonderfully with the sweet and savoury ice cream.

The main course offered in the set menu is a Red poll beef tartare with caramelised salsify and applewood ice cream. We were advised to stir the dish to combine all the flavours, so that the meat was perfectly coated in the melted gelato cream. I am not usually a fan of beef tartare, but I enjoyed this dish as the applewood balanced the strong flavours of the raw meat.

For dessert we tried a flourless Orange and almond cake with caramelised fennel seeds, mint, topped with rosemary and honey gelato which I really loved. The cake was zesty and sweet and its flavours were elevated by the rosemary ice cream.

These three dishes are exclusively available at Mercante until September alongside their A La Carte menu, so make sure to book a visit to taste them before the end of the summer.

To taste Mercante X La Gelatiera’s new gelato flavours just head to Mercante at the Sheraton Grand London Park Lane Hotel on Piccadilly. More delicious and unusual flavours will be released throughout the season (pear and ricotta, lemon verbena, visciole wild Italian cherry, chocolate and cherry semi-sorbet, peach and amaretto Disaronno). Also, National Ice Cream Day is coming up on Sunday 16th July! I will share more details on my Instagram page, so stay tuned!

Disclaimer: this post was written in collaboration with Mercante restaurant. All opinions are my own.