When Paolo Massimiliano recalls his very first gelato, the memory transports him on a sweet trip down childhood lane to Dino’s Milk Mart on Lorne Street in Gatchell.
It was that experience, as well as later formative gelato memories while backpacking in Italy, that really captured his heart and solidified his need to serve it at Regency Bakery’s Azzurri Café.
“I loved the café culture or as they call them, bars. They weren’t fancy, but we would meet for espresso and have gelato,” Regency owner Massimiliano recalled of his time in Italy.
“I literally ate gelato every day at siesta and socialized with the locals.”
The gelato counter, which took a hiatus during the COVID-19 lockdowns, has expanded this summer to include bold and daring flavour mash-ups like green apple, Biscoff and chocolate peanut butter gelatos.
"The counter was reintroduced this summer, following the pandemic and a car accident that led to significant structural renovations to the front of the building and café area,” Massimiliano said.
The creamy gelato is all made in-house in a shiny silver machine with ingredients that originate from Italy.
Gelato, an Italian version of ice cream traditionally made with more milk and less cream, also calls for fewer eggs in the recipe and is churned differently to make it dense and silky in comparison to ice cream.
“We work with a distributor out of Toronto who helped us develop the recipes,” Massimiliano said. “They are a family team, which we like.”
He also said they have switched the pistachio paste to something “less green Hulk” and more traditional and authentic.
Massimiliano’s personal favourites are the mint chip and vanilla gelato flavours, but those looking for a cool treat will find such flavours as birthday cake, peach mango, raspberry and pistachio. Some weeks customers will find pink grapefruit and pineapple varieties, too.
Every Monday, the machine gets a clean out, or “melt out”, and a staff member spends a full day making the gelato.
“The batches sit in the fridge and then it takes about eight minutes to freeze each batch,” Massimiliano said.
The Azzurri Café is set to get a facelift this fall for Regency’s 41st year in business.
“We’ve really grown in recent years and need to revise the space,” he said. “The fall is slower so it is a good time to deal with a little construction in the storefront.”
While the bakery is known for its authentic Italian desserts and famous porketta sandwiches, Regency’s Azzurri Café, which opened in 2007, is known for its caramel macchiatos, lattes and cappuccinos.
During the construction, prepackaged gelato will continue to be sold. It can also be made for special events and recently served at a few local festivals by the cup.
Regency Bakery and Deli is located at 1355 Regent Street in the South End.
Visit the website RegencyBakery.com or social media.
Anastasia Rioux is a writer in Greater Sudbury. Let’s Eat! is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.