Staff Report
Alessio Carnevale, an Italian expatriate living in the Santa Ynez Valley, has launched Valley Craft Gelato, a craft food business focused on his hand-made, frozen dairy concoctions.
Valley Craft Gelato offers special orders for catering and events; custom wholesale orders for restaurants and retail locations; and direct-to-consumer sales.
Carnevale, originally from Calabria, Italy, makes his homeland’s iconic frozen delicacies with some hyper-local ingredients. He will feature a rotating roster of seasonal, signature flavors such as Santa Barbara Pistachio and Lemon Zest, Roasted Coconut and White Chocolate, Honey and Lavender, and Fig Sorbetto, introducing new creations regularly.
He also plans to keep in regular rotation an array of his most popular flavors, including Vanilla Bean, Salted Caramel, Tiramisu, Dark Chocolate, and Espresso.
Carnevale has worked as a waiter at S.Y. Kitchen since its opening in 2013. He also worked at Trattoria Grappolo under Chef Leonardo Curti.
Carnevale began experimenting with making gelato in 2014, and soon started to supply it to S.Y. Kitchen.
Valley Craft Gelato may also be found in other Santa Ynez Valley restaurants, such as the new Mattei’s Tavern in Los Olivos, and Carnevale hopes to announce new locations soon.
Operating out of a leased kitchen in Santa Ynez, he aims to grow into a Santa Ynez Valley storefront operation.
Orders for pick-up and catering, retail or restaurant requests, may be made through the Valley Craft Gelato Facebook page and eventually, through the company’s website at www.valleycraftgelato.com.
To reach Valley Craft Gelato directly, call 805-319-5621.
