Innovative Gelato At Four Seasons Milano: Less Sugar, More Flavor – Travel And Tour World

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Daniele Bonzi, Pastry Chef at Four Seasons Milano, reimagines gelato with health-focused recipes, reducing sugar and fat while maintaining classic taste and texture.

Daniele Bonzi, the Pastry Chef at Four Seasons Hotel Milano, has revolutionized the traditional gelato recipe to align with modern culinary trends and an increased focus on health and wellbeing.

With his extensive experience and passion for pastry and desserts, Daniele embarked on an in-depth research journey to develop a gelato that caters to the nutritional and health-conscious preferences of today’s guests.

Aiming to preserve the classic taste and texture of gelato, Chef Bonzi restructured his recipes by reducing sugar and fat content. The objective was not to create a “lesser” product but a “better” one, focusing on the functional roles of each ingredient. No ingredient was off-limits; instead, the emphasis was on precise quantities and, where needed, the inclusion of new plant-based ingredients like cocoa butter.

Traditional ingredients such as cream, milk, and sugar are only used in select flavors like chocolate, vanilla, coffee, and cream. These ingredients are carefully measured to achieve the desired creaminess, complemented by “technical sugars” that help maintain a leaner profile.

For flavors like pistachio and hazelnut, Daniele eliminated added fats by utilizing the natural fats found in the nuts. This approach ensures that the “good fat” from pistachios, for instance, replaces dairy fats, maintaining the gelato’s quality without compromising on taste.

Fruit flavors, including raspberry and passion fruit, are crafted from purees with no added sugars, enhanced with fruit coverings. These sorbets, enriched with vegetable cocoa butter, offer a creamy, plant-based gelato experience.

Ethical and sustainable sourcing is a key component of this new gelato line. Ingredients like mango are sourced from small plantations in India, where the profits directly benefit the farmers, and waste is repurposed for energy production. The milk and cream come from the Latteria Sociale Valtellina Consortium, which promotes environmental responsibility among its 110 farmers, resulting in a high-quality regional product.

Four Seasons Gelato Flavors:

1. Roasted Vanilla Bean
2. Valtellina Milk Cream
3. Pure Macaé Brazil Chocolate
4. 100% Arabica Ethiopia Coffee
5. Salted Pistachio (plant-based)
6. Langhe Hazelnut (plant-based)
7. Siracusano Femminiello Lemon IGP (plant-based)
8. Raspberry Inspiration (plant-based)
9. Passion Fruit Inspiration (plant-based)
10. Mara de Bois Strawberries (plant-based)
11. Costa Rica Pineapple and Jamaican Pepper (plant-based)
12. Single-Origin India Mango (plant-based)

These innovative gelato flavors are available at Zelo, the restaurant helmed by Executive Chef Fabrizio Borraccino, and on the Stilla Garden menu—perfect for enjoying on warm summer days in the city. Guests can also order take-away gelato for private events or home dining.