Prepare yourself: everything you thought you knew about ice cream means nothing. Even those ridiculously good Italian gelaterie? Forget ’em – waste of time… for Jordi Roca, the youngest of the three brothers behind El Celler de Can Roca (the world’s 2nd best restaurant), has rewritten the ice cream parlour rulebook. What looks like a traditional gelateria from the outside, is a Roald Dahl-esque fantasy-world within; gauges, tubes and taps heightening the sense of theatre and playfulness that El Celler de Can Roca (where caramelised olives arrive at your table attached to bonsai trees) has become famous for.
With Barcelona studio Sandra Tarruella Interioristas having given the gelateria its fanciful interiors, it’s left to the mastermind behind El Celler’s “sweet anarchy” to blow his enthusiastic public away, and blow them away he does. Six flavours, with exquisite accessories like butter cookie, cotton candy, popping-candy and fresh fruit, are available – alongside a selection of candies, deserts, parfumes and books… Rocambolesc Gelateria is a Garden of Eden for sweet tooths, foodies and Willy Wonka fantasists alike; and hopefully a blueprint for taking high-dining experiences into the high street.
