Matcha and orange blossom gelato

Behind the counter of one of the most surprising gelato shops in Bologna, Sablé Gelato, is Alessandro Cesari: an artisan of taste, a tireless researcher and a creator of gelatos that escape classic definitions. His philosophy is radical but simple: a few flavours a day, seasonal and selected ingredients, no semi-finished products, no thickeners or stabilizers, but plenty of technique and a sensitivity for balance.

In his 27-square-metre micro-gelateria on via dei Mille, every flavour is a daily, fresh, living preparation. Gelato – as he likes to say – "lives only one day": it is made every morning at dawn and served without freezing or storage. When a flavour runs out, it is not replaced. No freezer can change that: at Sablé, you follow the rhythm of nature.

Alessandro starts from exceptional raw materials such as local organic milk, eggs from sustainable farms, honey from the Bolognese hills, whole fresh fruit and cocoa processed in-house directly from the cocoa beans. The chocolate, in fact, is also bean-to-bar and made in his lab, with direct selection of the growers and artisanal processing.

In every sorbet, fruit exceeds 80% of the mix. In the gelatos, the sugar percentage is calibrated so as not to cover the flavour: a challenge that requires technique and patience, but that yields an authentic, clean product with a light nutritional profile.

Far from intensive production logic, Cesari embodies the most artisanal and "emotional" soul of gelato: the one made of seasonality, instinct, craft and absolute respect for raw materials. Every day at Sablé is a new interpretation, a new balance to find, a new gelato to discover.