A rare, upscale taste treat is now available in Mont-Tremblant: gelato. Come experience European refinement and get to know the two master ice cream makers, Mario St-Laurent and Diane Bélanger, who left the Abitibi area to open the Crèmerie Mabel here.

After many years of dreaming and six years of research and training with Italian specialists, Mario opened his creamery two years ago at the corner of Chemin de Brébeuf and rue de Saint-Jovite. Mario is in charge of the equipment and customers and his spouse has become the recipe queen.

The counter must always carry the classics such as pistachio, dark chocolate and strawberry for the children, but Diane is always experimenting with new flavours. Everything is made on-site. Gelato is a refined product. It’s an artisanal dairy ice made from natural ingredients according to a traditional method developed in Italy.

It contains less air, fat and sugar than commercial ice creams and completely avoids the use of artificial flavours and of artificial conservation and colouring agents. “Avoid florescent colours,” Diane warns us, “as gelato must have the natural colour of the fruit.” For Mario, tasting a gelato is like the winetasting process: “Several factors influence the taste, particularly the temperature at which it’s served. Gelato is tasted at -8° C, compared to -18° C for hard ice cream. The taste immediately explodes in the mouth.”

Choose a gelato in a cone or cup, or a fruity sherbet … perhaps strawberry, mango, grapefruit or coffee: there are more than 20 flavours available. The creamery also carries “soft ice cream” of course, which is a Québec tradition, as well as offering desserts to go: lemon pie, dipping chocolate, solid or liquid sucre à la crème, all made from local ingredients.

Considering the popularity of these treats, remember to order your yule log well before Christmas!

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