Smashed avo on toast might be easy enough to find, but it’s not every day that the popular fruit—paired perfectly with balsamic vinegar— appears on a gelato menu.
It’s just one of the many curious flavours available at Petersham’s Gelato Republic, where owner Michael Papaianni enjoys experimenting with the unusual.
As well as the more traditional chocolate, pistachio and coffee flavours, there’s a daring black olive and basil; a medicinal turmeric, lemon and ginger; and a creamy Matcha green tea.
“Some of the flavours, like the black olive, might be a little bit different for some people, but they work,” he laughs.
The newly opened store on New Canterbury Road is Papaianni’s very first foray into the world of gelato.
Michael Papaianni enjoys experimenting with the unusual at Petersham's Gelato Republic. Source: Michaela Morgan
“I was involved in cafes for a while but I wanted to get out of the kitchen and away from the grease and the oils! I thought about gelato but I wanted to do something different.”
So Papaianni decided to learn from the best and booked into an intensive gelato-making course in Soverato in southern Italy under master chef and gelatician, John Nocita.
“They show you the chemistry and balance of it then it’s up to you to go off and do your own thing and that’s what I wanted,” he tells SBS.
Newly armed with the secrets to making Italian gelato, Papaianni decided to split his menu into two categories: dairy and non-dairy—although you won’t find any sorbet at Gelato Republic. Rather, there’s a nutty, dairy-free peanut butter and velvety black sesame.
“I wanted to create non-dairy options because it’s not just vegan but it’s also for lactose intolerant people, because a lot of people can’t have dairy,” he says.
“So usually those people can’t have gelato, just sorbet. I wanted to make something really creamy for them, but it took a while to get it right.”
Gelato Republic has already been a huge hit with locals and visitors to the inner west—it’s the perfect spot for some dessert after a meal at the legendary Frangos Charcoal Chicken across the road.
Papaianni himself grew up in the area—his family arrived in Marrickville from Italy when he was seven or eight years old.
“I’ve seen a lot of change in Marrickville from the Greek influence to the Vietnamese influence to now, which is awesome,” he says.
“It’s really changed and I think Petersham is doing the same thing.”
Something else you can expect to be constantly changing is the Gelato Republic menu—Papaianni has plenty of ideas for the future, starting with the store’s next weekend.
“I’m going to look at coming up with a pumpkin gelato,” Papaianni says.
“So we’ll see if that comes out!”
61-63 New Canterbury Rd, Petersham
