The Real Scoop at Bono Artisanal Gelato

Here's the real scoop. Authentic Italian gelato, probably the best in the metro. Right here at Bono Artisanal Gelato.

Authentic Italian gelato in familiar flavors, and new surprising flavors. Traditional artisanal techniques from the old world in one cool spot. A variety of flavors and great coffee too. You'll find it all here at Bono Artisanal Gelato.

Coined from the Italian word "buono," meaning "good,"  Bono Artisanal Gelato's mission is simple and straightforward, to transform your palate and transport you to Italy with each scoop of real, authentic Italian gelato.

And the wall says it all. At Bono Artisanal Gelato, everything is handcrafted and made from scratch using real ingredients. Only the freshest and best ingredients make the cut, like fresh strawberries from California, vanilla beans from Tahiti, green tea from Japan, and premium Belgian chocolate. And absolutely no artificial colorings, flavorings  or emulsifiers and preservatives are used in any of their flavors. Each flavor is made the old fashioned way, slow and gentle.  And every batch is no more than 12-20 hours old, and never stored in freezers for more than a day.  And that's as fresh as it can get with each and every scoop.  And the result? Real flavors from real ingredients. Better than ice cream? Absolutely. The flavors are more pronounced with authentic gelato as compared to regular ice cream because of a much lower fat content, less air, and a higher temperature allowing you to taste the flavor without the burn.

Meet the dynamic duo behind Bono Artisanal Gelato, Rea Gomez-Harrow, Marketing Director; and Zarah Zaragoza-Manikan, R&D/Production Manager. Bono Artsanal Gelato began soon after both Rea and Zarah completed their studies at Carpigiani Gelato University in Bologna, Italy, learning the fine art of artisanal gelato from old world Italian masters. This means that each delicious scoop at Bono Artisanal Gelato is the real thing, the real scoop, the way traditional Italian gelato should be.

And here's where the magic happens. Bono Artisanal Gelato uses the Cattabriga Effe 6 Vertical Gelato Freezer from Italy for all its flavors. The classic "stir and stick" system of traditional gelatos maintains the creamy consistency Italian gelato is known for. And in true artisanal fashion, the Cattabriga Vertical Freezer allows Bono Artisanal Gelato to give all its flavors a "personal touch" by hand-moving the delicate gelato with a specialized stick for that traditional gelato flavor experience. Like all the best things, it takes time, and the Cattabriga system uses a "slow churn" method consistent with traditional Italian gelato. You can tell there's a lot of love in the making of each batch.

Unlike most gelaterias where all the flavors are displayed, Bono Artisanal Gelato hides their cool flavors to maintain the artisanal quality of their product in Pozatto cabinets, also from Italy, ensuring the least amount of air and light contamination that may affect the flavor. As Bono Artisanal Gelato uses only all-natural and the freshest ingredients without any additives or preservatives, each batch stays as fresh as it was straight from the vertical mixers.

Bono Artisanal Gelato also makes their own waffle cones and waffle cookies daily, consistent with their handcrafted artisanal approach. No short cuts here. None.

Bono Artisanal Gelato only makes fresh batches depending on product stocks and movement, and I was in luck. Bono Artisanal Gelatos's Milk and Cereal flavor needed replenishment, and a new batch is prepared. The fresh ingredients are blended for consistency in texture before the slow-churn process.

Then, the fresh batch is poured to the vertical freezer, and the slow churn begins. The slow delicate weave of the Cattabriga's spatula then goes into action, scraping the sides until the liquid slowly solidifies with a creamy and smooth consistency.  As the freezer spins, one is surrounded by the familiar aroma of creamy milk, and for a few seconds, childhood memories of breakfast with cereals pop in and out. I decided it was probably the right time to step out before I started licking the rotating spatula. And the slow churn process will take a while.  Slow food. Can't get any better than that.

After adding additional cereal, and a final manual mix with a stick, the fresh batch of Bono Artisanal Gelato's Milk and Cereal is ready and placed in a stainless steel container and stored in the Pozzato cabinet at the counter.

And the fresh batch of Milk and Cereal gets its first customer...

Having no preservatives, a real gelato melts faster than ice cream. The velvety smooth and creamy texture delivers a burst of flavor, that familiar bottom of the cereal bowl taste where all the flavor is concentrated. Nice.

And each fresh batch is made exactly the same way, slow and unhurried, a gentle slow churn for that silky smooth and creamy texture.

After tasting a spoonful each of Bono Artisanal Gelato's different flavors, I had to restrain myself from getting a full scoop of all the flavors, and I go for a single scoop of Speculoos, Belgian Cookie Butter; Cioccolato, 70% dark chocolate;  Caramello al Sale, salted caramel with toasted almonds; and Baci, dark chocolate with hazelnuts and Nutella. And I just enjoyed all of it. Each flavor was different and distinct, as real gelato has a higher temperature than regular ice cream, and you can taste more of the flavor without the burn or brain freeze.

Other must-try flavors include Movie Night, chocolate covered potato crisps with caramel; Cafe Moka, made with dark chocolate and local fair trade coffee beans; Mad About Malt, with malt milk powder and malt covered chocolate balls; Pistachio, with roasted premium California pistachios; Oatmeal Cookie, with fresh baked oatmeal cookies; Lavande, made with fresh summer lavender; Tiramisu, Rocky Road, Cookies and Cream, Vaniglia, Straciatella, Mint Chip, Matcha, made with stone ground Japanese green tea; Fragola, made with fresh California strawberries; Blueberry Cheesecake, Coffee Honeycomb and Mango.  Want something with a kick? Go for the Chocolate Peperoncino, dark chocolate with cayenne, definitely different. And cool. New flavors are added constantly using what's in season, and there's always a cool flavor surprise in every visit. And leave it to Rea and Zarah to come up with some amazing, and sometimes surprising, flavor combos.

As the summer heat gets to high gear, Bono Artisanal Gelato also offers a line of non-dairy Sorbetto in cool flavors like Pina Colada, Buko Lychee and Chili Tamarind. I sampled a spoonful of the Pina Colada, and was immediately surprised with the creamy texture despite having no milk at all. The sharp flavor and smooth texture combined was unlike any other I've tried. And that's the really cool thing at Bono Artisanal Gelato, there's always a sweet surprise. Pure gelato bliss starts at P 130 for a single scoop, and P 200 for a double. And its worth every centavo. Seriously.

And at the end of the day, selected flavors are sold at a 50% discount, ensuring that a new fresh batch is made the very next day. Very cool.

It's always great to see people with a real passion for their product, and you can really taste this passion in every scoop. Special thanks to Rea Gomez-Harrow of Bono Artisanal Gelato for transforming the way I see and taste gelato and for transporting me to another place, with just a few scoops.

Go get the real scoop, and rediscover the way gelato should be. Only at Bono Artisanal Gelato.

Bono Artisanal Gelato is located at the 2nd Floof of SM Makati or call 215-6976 or 0918-850-5766 for inquiries. You can also visit their cool website at www.gelatobono.com for more information. 

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