Bono Artisanal Gelato comes to the Podium

Gelato is Italian ice cream. There are many different brands of gelato in the Metro but one that stands out is Bono Artisanal Gelato which recently put up a branch at the Podium in the Ortigas Center.

Rea Gomez-Harrow, one of the cool people behind Bono Artisanal Gelato

Bono Artisanal Gelato is located on the ground floor of the Podium along ADB Avenue in Ortigas Center. It’s right behind the escalators, fronting the side entrance of Podium leading to SM Megamall.

I got to speak with Rea Gomez-Harrow, the Marketing Director of Bono. She and her other partner studied the art of artisan gelato-making at Carpigiani Gelato University in Bologna, Italy (gosh, I thought Hamburger University was something and now they even have a university for teaching gelato-making!).

Everything at Bono is made ON THE SPOT and is not kept beyond 20 hours unlike others that are often kept in freezers. The gelato ingredients, while pre-blended and pre-packed for consistency, are churned by hand right there with a special gelato making machine, the Cattabriga Effe 6, from Italy, which is regarded by those in the industry as possibly the best gelato-making machine to-date.

Churning gelato by hand (photo taken from Bono’s Facebook photos)

Pozzetto gelato cabinets like these keep the gelato clean (not exposed)
like other ice cream or gelato brands and are temperature-controlled
(photo taken from Bono’s Facebook photos)

Even the wafers stuck on top of each scoop of gelato, wafer cones and waffle cookies are made daily so that it stays fresh and crisp. The whole process is truly artisanal.

Healthy buffs, you will love this bit of news. Rea said that they only used the finest ingredients (fresh strawberries from California, finest Belgian chocolate, and so on) and one of the signs on their wall and counter say it all —

The finest ingredients are sourced from different parts of the world…

…but other locally available ingredients support local farming.

Flavors? Bono has a LOT! And I actually had fun trying them all out with tiny, colorful sample spoons given to me.

Speculoos (Belgian cookie butter) was yummy! I’d go for that again. For that Pinoy touch, Bono was able to concoct a Taho variant. I tried it and it really had a taho flavor. It takes getting used to though because I am always used to taking my taho the traditional way. Another winner was the Matcha & Azuki (Japanese stone-ground green tea & sweet red beans). And if you want to try something so totally unexpected, try Movie Night (chocolate-dipped potato crisps and caramel). No kidding, it tasted like a caramel gelato mixed with tiny, crispy Pringles chips in it.

After trying almost all, I chose my full serving variant – Fragola. I could not resist the California strawberries, hahaha.

A beautiful wall (artfully created by Rea herself) beside the Bono counters says everything you want to know about Bono Artisanal Gelato.

Prices are more expensive than what you’d pay if you bought scoops of ice cream, frozen yogurt or other gelato brands but the taste experience, ingredients and process that Bono Artisanal Gelato goes through makes it worth the price. A small cup is PhP 85. A single scoop (1 flavor in cup or cone) is PhP 130 and a double serving (2 flavors in cup or cone) is PhP 200.

I found out that they also deliver! If you are hosting a party or group of friends, or if you are just craving for gelato from the comfort of your home, they can deliver fresh, all natural and frozen gelato to you on demand. A pint is PhP 450 and a tub is PhP 850. This is a photo taken from their Facebook page showing the delivery area (FREE delivery within 5 km of Podium with a minimum purchase of PhP 1,000). To enumerate, they cover: New Manila, San Juan, Greenhills, Horseshoe, Wack-Wack, Mandaluyong, Kapitolyo, Ortigas Center, Corinthian Gardens, Corinthian Hills, Valle Verde, Pasig (parts), Acropolis, Greenmeadows, Eastwood, White Plains, St. Ignatius, Blue Ridge, Cubao (parts).