This Tuesday, work begins on the new project that Albert Adrià has in hand, an ice cream parlor with the provisional name of Gelato Collection that will be found on the Rambla. The Enigma chef explains that he and his partner for more than ten years, pastry chef Alfredo Machado, had been thinking about opening this business for a long time. "We talked about it during the pandemic, but since then Enigma has had us very absorbed, that's why it took us so long," he says.
Fortune has also helped the project move forward. It was in a conversation with Àngel Velasco, owner of Torrons Vicens (a brand with which the chef has collaborated for 12 years), when Adrià finally saw the opportunity to make it a reality. "I told him that he wanted to open an ice cream parlor and he responded that he had the permits to open one in the space attached to the Torrons Vicens store on the Rambla."
There was nothing more to talk about. Since that moment, Velasco became the third partner of this business that will open the second week of June at number 134 on one of the busiest streets in the city. They have already begun to create their bank of numbered recipes, a way of cataloging ice cream that is inspired by the world of perfumes.
For now, they have developed about 40 different varieties and it will not stop there. Together with Machado, they will continue testing after opening. "At this moment he is waiting for me to try three more recipes," says Adrià in a telephone conversation with Comer La Vanguardia. They are made "with a high-quality product and their texture is very creamy," he adds.
The ice creams will be divided into four families: classics, such as vanilla and chocolate; seasonal, among which are fig, peach or kumquat; signature, like lychee with wasabi; and for adults, who will bring alcohol. "We already have one of margarita and another of negroni," explains Adrià.
The cook is more in favor of the tub, although he says that if customers ask for a cone, he will have to give it to them. What will not be an option is adding toppings such as chocolate chips or colored noodles. Prices, he adds, will be competitive.
The Creative Team, which has also signed the design of the chef's other gastronomic spaces such as the Pakta and Tickets restaurants, will be the architectural studio in charge of the work that begins this Tuesday.
We asked Adrià why he wanted to open an ice cream shop so badly. "I never eat desserts, but I love ice cream," he says. "Also because Barcelona is a city with good cocktail bars, pizzerias, hamburger restaurants and, now, ice cream parlors. And we wanted to do our part by opening our own," he concludes.
