With the constant power cuts and the incessant heat we’ve been eating an ungodly amount of ice cream to beat this melting weather. But, with this mounting consumption of ice cream what we’ve noticed is that Sri Lanka has such a sad, meagre selection of local flavours in their ice cream options.
We are personally big fans of coconut ice cream but it’s next to impossible to find coconut flavoured ice cream in Sri Lanka. Really, if you think about it, we are famous for our spices, our incredible local flavours and yet, we are stuck eating plain old vanilla and chocolate flavoured ice cream. Feels like a true travesty.
In our search for some local flavour, what we found was just the one place, according to our information, that is offering truly Sri Lankan flavours – which happens to be Isle of Gelato. While personally we feel the price point is a little steep, we cannot deny that it is good stuff, and considering that what they offer is the perfect alternative to imported and industrial ice creams made with artificial colours, flavours, and other additives, we can’t complain too much.
Of course you’ve most certainly heard of Isle of Gelato ice cream by now, but we are bringing it up because they recently opened an outlet at The Gourmet Boutique in Alfred Place, Colombo 3.
Isle of Gelato really doesn’t stop at simply making coconut ice cream, they create artisanal gelato and vegan sorbets from scratch using fresh, natural, and locally sourced ingredients.
According to Isle of Gelato Co-Founders Suranjan Perera and Shalini Fernando, they have worked with chefs and local suppliers to create a dynamic range of Sri Lankan flavours using ingredients like buffalo curd, coconut milk, Ceylon tea, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, Puttalam sea salt, tamarind, mangosteen, wood apple, jackfruit, mango, and a number of other awesome local flavours.
In addition to their freshly made gelatos, they now also have their signature range of gelato cakes and tubs, and as part of their commitment to environmentally and socially responsible practices, Isle of Gelato uses unbleached, compostable packaging and avoids single-use plastic.
While the environmentally friendly sustainable practices are always a good thing, they are somewhat expected of businesses these days. We were happy to see that they have made such commitments.
Isle of Gelato has somewhat made a name for themselves as a part of the higher end market however, it can be said that considering their grounded creations, being so incredibly rooted with what is Sri Lankan, we can argue that it is for everyone, so, considering the weather and the inevitable craving for something ice cold, we’d like to recommend that you give some Sri Lankan flavours from Isle of Gelato a shot.
Instagram: @isleofgelato
