Crolla’s Gelateria: Launch event (Aberdeen)

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

When it comes to frozen desserts there's nothing more satisfying than a good old-school ice cream cone. From a young age, getting an ice cream was a treat, especially when the ice cream van actually decided to come past the house - which wasn't very often. Still to this day, I see visiting an ice cream shop as a real treat, and usually end up spending between 30-45 minutes in the place trying to decide what flavours to choose.

Over the past year Aberdeen has seen a number of ice cream parlours open their doors, offering up everything from unique flavours, to mammoth sized plates of perfectly baked cookie dough. However, there's one ice cream company that's moving into the city looking to offer something a little different to the market. In step Crolla's Gelateria.

A family-run ice cream company which boasts shops in both Glasgow and Wishaw, Crolla's has now officially opened it's doors in Aberdeen at 60 Rosemount Place. The first franchise to be situated North of the Central Belt, Crolla's is looking to make it's mark on the city, offering the people of Aberdeen its award-winning, authentic, homemade Italian gelato.

As the company has been producing ice cream for over 120 years, with the ice cream recipe being the family's best kept secret, you would expect this ice cream to be some of the best ice cream you'll ever taste - it is - and not only that, it's served up with a smile - something we Aberdonian's need to do more often.

Bagging myself an invite to the preview launch evening, I was excited to see what the Gelateria had to offer. On initial arrival I was pleasantly surprised to see outdoor seating. There's not many places in Aberdeen which offer this, so I was already expecting good things.

Welcomed with fizz and homemade nibbles, my initial thought was that the eatery was much bigger than anticipated. With a huge ice cream counter, ample space for seating, and it's own in-house ice cream making facility, Crolla's certainly means business.

With no clue on what flavour to try, David, one of the operations managers who was involved in the opening of the franchise, talked me through a number of the ice creams, guiding me and my boyfriend in finding our favourite flavours. I also got the chance to speak to the owner of the company which was pretty cool. Can you believe his favouirte flavour is still traditional vanilla? Go figure.

Throughout the evening we were also treated to a number of demonstrations with the cold stone from Peter Crolla Junior, managing director and the fifth generation of Crolla’s, who prepared some great ice cream concoctions by mixing up a number of flavours which unexpectedly went surprisingly well together.

The company creates over 80 different flavours of ice cream for their shops and corporate clientele. From traditional vanilla, to coconut (which I can say was my favourite), to Turkish delight (which was also extremely tasty and very sweetly fragrant), there's something for everyone, at this traditional yet forward thinking Gelateria.

What I really enjoyed learning about Crolla's is that the ice cream is made daily on-site by the chefs. The cold stone feature also allows customers to create their own ice cream flavour by mixing their favourite Gelato flavours together. The ice cream is placed on the cold stone, chopped up and mixed together to create a unique flavour of choosing.

The eatery also offers sundaes, milkshakes, smoothies, frozen drinks, Italian coffees and a number of homemade sandwiches. You can also get your hands on some wonderful waffles and other warm desserts too. Crolla's also plans to offer a delivery service very soon, which will ensure that those who can't travel very far, can still experience a taste of Crolla's.

An experience I hope to be re-visiting again soon, Crolla's is a must try if you're an ice cream fiend like me. All I can advise is go for the three scoops, you won't regret it.*