Cold Front Gelato offers up to 16 different flavours of dairy and plant-based gelato. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

SUMMER TREAT

Signature Dish: Cold Front Gelato’s Mint Brownie & Sea Salt Chocolate

Jun 4, 2021 | 10:59 AM

NANAIMO — Few things go together better than a hot summer’s day and a delicious, cold treat.

Cold Front Gelato delivers on the second part of that perfect pairing with a wide range of flavours including two of their most popular: mint chocolate brownie and a plant-based sea salt chocolate.

The mint chocolate brownie nearly smacks you in the face with mint…not mint flavouring, but authentic, actual mint leaves from Yellow Point Farms. When biting into the scoop, you can taste the earthiness and floral nature of the leaves themselves, not an artificial “green” mint flavour.

“There’s such a difference in flavour when you’re dealing with fresh ingredients and fresh food and that’s something that can only be created in small batches and locally,” Sunny Parsons, co-owner of Cold Front Gelato, said.

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The chocolate brownie which accompanies the mint gelato hits all the right notes.

Huge chunks which end up embedded in the mixture are light and crispy while pieces on top are dense and chewy.

Among Cold Front Gelato’s many vegan options is sea salt chocolate, inspired by Parsons’ favourite chocolate bar and is richly flavoured with dark chocolate and a pinch of sea salt.

“One of my original recipes before I opened this shop was my vegan chocolate, it was really well received amongst friends and family. I was really excited to bring that vegan chocolate recipe to this shop.”

The sea salt, like many of their ingredients, is sourced on Vancouver Island with Parsons taking advantage of several area farms to pack a flavour punch.

Honey lavender, a year-round flavour served up features lavender from the Comox Valley and honey from Fredrich’s Honey in Cedar. Many berries and herbs are also sourced in and around Nanaimo.

Scoops, along with their pints and coffee cups, sleeves and lids are all served in compostable packaging. Alternatively, gelato is also available on top of light and crispy waffle cones, which stand up to the gelato but nearly instantly dissolve in your mouth.

Sixteen flavours are available at any one time on a changing menu at their Commercial St. store, with Cold Front taking their show on the road during market season with a trailer serving their favourite flavours.

“We can scoop from there, we have a great dipper well and we’ve got a little storage for pints. It makes it a lot of fun to be at events and to be at the farmer’s markets right next to farmers we are actually getting produce from.”

The commitment to gelato started as a hobby for Parsons, which eventually evolved into more formal training to hone her craft.

“Once I realized I was really into making ice cream or gelato, I sourced this fabulous school in Italy. I signed up to go to their program in Bologna and I took their beginner, intermediate and advanced courses, learning how to make gelato the Italian way.”

Cold Front Gelato’s store is located at 306-60 Commercial St. in downtown Nanaimo, near the intersection with Terminal Ave. They are also a feature vendor at the Cedar Farmer’s Market with their custom-built trailer.

For more information, visit their website at https://www.coldfrontgelato.com/.

Signature Dish is brought to you by Island Savings – A Division of First West Credit Union, learn more at https://www.islandsavings.ca/.

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