Happy Easter from Giovanni’s Gelato, MK [PR Visit]

Giovanni’s Gelato is at our local shopping centre, Centre: MK, and it serves the tastiest gelato (amongst other sweet treats). You’ll find it at the John Lewis end, close to The Works and Build a Bear – and not only is it impossible to walk past and not notice the super cute pink truck, but it’s even more difficult to not stop and get that sugar fix. Its location is definitely hard to resist when I’m with Alfie as we quite often head into some of the shops and let’s be honest, who says no to ice cream?

We were recently invited to try the limited-edition Easter flavour – inspired by a popular Italian treat eaten during this time of year, the Torta di Colomba. Known in English as the Easter dove, due to its shape, the cake is gifted as a sign of peace and is fairly similar to the Italian Christmas cake, panettone. The Torta di Colomba is a sweet bread containing citrus, candied orange peel, almonds and sugar nibs and the gelato form just made me want to try this traditional cake.

The gelato looked spectacular on the counter, and you could see all the elements of a Torta in it. We had a generous pot of the Colomba gelato to share and it was so tasty. The cake pieces were soft rather than dense and contrasted with the crunch of sugar and almonds. Alfie loved it too – and in his words, it was amazing!

Be sure to go and try it this Easter weekend – or at least before it’s no longer on the counter – you won’t regret it! The limited-edition flavours always prove popular – we were also huge fans of the Red Velvet Cake which was released for Valentine’s Day (but became a permanent fixture for weeks after) and it was so dreamy… but I’d say the Easter gelato is even yummier.

If you want to eat at the truck, you can do, with four cone seats to watch the world (or shoppers) go by – although there’s plenty of seating close by and throughout the shopping centre, if you want to grab a treat to go. Talking of takeaway, you can also purchase larger tubs from Giovanni’s Gelato (£9 for 500ml), taking your pick from one of the many flavours on the enticing counter. I definitely wish I’d brought a tub of Colomba home with me.

As always, the service was fantastic. Himanshu usually serves us and he’s so friendly, letting me snap the counter and quite often take our time in choosing. The counter is restocked on a Saturday and believe me when I say, if you visit on a Friday, it doesn’t look anywhere near as impressive (especially if you want that Insta shot). Visit on a Saturday for the proper experience and all the colours (as well as choice of gelato).

If you love a freebie, make sure you’re following the account on Instagram and also sign up to the email newsletter. There are quite often ‘guess the flavour’ competitions or surveys to fill in to win free gelato and other treats. I’ve been fortunate enough to win a six-scoop box, and a couple of free cups or cones of gelato, as well as a £20 voucher for leaving a Google review (I ended up using it to buy two takeaway tubs and a pistachio cannoli… yum).

As well as gelato and cannoli, you can tuck into waffles, pancakes, Sicilian buns, shakes, slushes and more! It’s a great place to go to satisfy your sweet tooth.

A massive thank you to the team at Giovanni’s Gelato for having us. We had our own dedicated time and didn’t feel rushed throughout the experience. We already can’t wait for our next visit.

Happy Easter, or as the Italians say, Buona Pasqua!

Love, Lucy xx

 

*PR Visit: our pot of Torta di Colomba gelato was FOC, but I also paid for Alfie to have a one-scoop cone with toppings afterwards. Thoughts and images are 100% my own.