TO MARK THIS YEAR’S GOLDEN CONE AWARDS, WE
Crolla’s have been making traditional Italian ice cream in Glasgow for more than a hundred years, ever since a young Serafino Crolla set up his first shop in Queen Mary Street in 1895.
Peter Crolla Jr is Serafino’s greatgreat-grandson and the fifth generation of the family. He has joined forces with his father and is responsible for developing the firm’s Gelateria franchise with five established businesses and another five in the pipeline.
The ice cream dons descended from Italian immigrants who lef t home more than a century ago and found la dolce vita in Scotland.
These great rivals share one thing in common – a passion for the best ice cream made simply from milk, sugar and cream. In parlours, gelaterias and cafes around the country, each fami ly continue the treasured tradition, bringing flavour, sweetness and good taste – with or without raspberry sauce and a cone.
Now, to mark the launch of the 2017 Golden Cone Awards, we have brought together for the first time many of the Italian families responsible for satisfying our sweet tooth. This Glasgow cafe was established in the 1900s by Gino’s grandad Pasquale, who left Cassino for Scotland, where he initially worked as a carpenter.
The art deco interior of this west end institution still displays his hand-carved wood panelling and the family have treated generations of Glaswegians to ice cream, fish suppers and sweets ever since.
Gino, who runs the cafe with brother Rico, said: “The ice cream is a family recipe that has never been written down – it’s in my head.” Known as King Cone, Filippo’s grandfather Antonio left his home near Cassino at the end of the 19th century, finally settling in Ayr where he started making ice cream in 1913.
In 1942, Antonio was interned on the Arandora Star troop ship which was torpedoed off the Irish coast. Filippo’s dad Michael took over the business and was later joined by his son.
Today, the firm specialise in wedding ice cream carts and they have an outlet on the promenade at Prestwick beach.
“The secret is passion,” said Filippo. “Anyone can make ice cream but only a handful of us make exceptional ice cream.”
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