Cristian Ciacci may belong to family of restaurateurs, but his true passion – ever since he opened his first shop on Corso Belgio (near the Ponte dei Sassi bridge in 1998) – has always been ice cream. He specialises in creating new flavour, such as the now famous Ciaccissimo (with Plasmon baby biscuits, guanduja cream ripple and pralined almonds) and salted cream (with biscuit and caramel enriched with Camargue salt) which, with pistachio, account for 70 per cent of production. Then come Pazzo (biscuit, acacia honey and ginger), Cubana (hazelnuts and coffee-flavored chocolate) and Macedonia (fruit salad). The latest in the list is Gusto 23, named after a Kabbalah number and consisting almonds, pistachios and orange marmalade. At the craft workshop-cum-bakery at Strada San Mauro 182, where there’s also a small shop, Cristian’s wife Giorgia Andolfo creates gluten-free cakes, among which: Cuore granata, gianduja semifreddo filled with raspberry jam, a homage to Catullo, Cristian’s father, a fan of the Torino football team (the name, literally “Garnet-red Heart”, is a reference to the colour of their jersey). Ciacci ice creams are also to be found in the two shops run by Cristian and Giorgia’s daughter figlia Camilla, one at Via delle Rosine 8, the other at Via Borgaro 60 in Turin’s Madonna di Campagna neighbourhood.
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