What’s the secret to making great gelato? Top-quality ingredients combined with the skill and expertise of a master gelato maker.
Carmela Grotta
Trained at CAST, a center of advanced specialization in the food sector, where she followed a solid and in-depth educational path, she returned a few years later as a scholarship recipient, further strengthening her skills. It was during this period that she met gelato maker Francesco Palmieri, a leading figure in the field, with whom she began a professional collaboration that lasted two years within his company. Later, she also assisted him during courses and demonstrations, gaining direct experience in training and technical experimentation.
Drawn to the complexity and versatility of gelato—which she recognized as her medium of choice—she decided to start her own business. This led to the opening of Ciocolat, her gelateria in Toscolano Maderno, where she brings to life a personal vision of gelato: artisanal, detail-oriented, and focused on the careful selection of ingredients.
In 2017, she was awarded Best Emerging Gelato Maker by the Gambero Rosso Guide—an important milestone in her professional journey.
For the past eleven years, she has been a lecturer at CAST, a role she continues to carry out with enthusiasm, contributing to the education of new generations of professionals in the field. At the same time, she continues to run Ciocolat, her gelateria in Toscolano Maderno, which has been awarded 2 cones by Gambero Rosso and was included among the 100 best gelaterias in Italy in the Dissapore 2025 ranking.
Three words that describe me
Determined – Demanding – Authentic
A little-known fact about my work
I love balancing and writing recipes by hand on scrap paper—papers that I inevitably lose after testing them. It’s my own form of creative chaos. I don’t have a sweet tooth; I taste desserts out of professional duty, but I don’t actually eat them.
The technique or ingredient I’m most passionate about
I love blending pastry and gelato, because I believe the flavor of a dessert can also be expressed in a frozen cream. It moves me when, at the first taste, someone says: “It feels like I’m really eating that cake!”
My source of inspiration
Seasonal raw ingredients and the work of artisanal producers.
My favorite flavor to create
Sweet-and-savory (or salty-sweet) — I really enjoy playing with the balance between contrasting flavors.
Busting a myth about the industry
You always have to be bold to impress: sometimes it’s simplicity, done with intention and awareness, that leaves the deepest impression.