In an effort to raise the standard of extravagance in frozen desserts, Ahmad Almarri launched Canvas Gelato in 2017. Welcome to the bizarre world of ice cream flavors that not only tantalize your taste buds, but also leave you intrigued and wanting more.
Canvas Gelato offers new flavors for daring people who find vanilla too bland and chocolate too boring and are ready to venture away from classic ice cream. Some of the wacky ice cream flavors on offer range from pistachio baqlawa, green apple wasabi and saffron ice cream with Emirati pumpkin pudding.
Five years after its creation, its eccentric flavors are still so adventurous and exceed expectations. Peanut butter and jam with hibiscus gelato, tangerine and black tea sorbet, and goat cheese gelato with balsamic fig jam are among the more unusual concoctions.
Almarri claims that it entered the ice cream industry to offer premium ice cream with deeper flavors made from natural ingredients. The reason behind his company name is that he views ice cream as a blank canvas on which he can unleash his craziest concoctions.
Almarri says he likes to think outside the box and tantalise people’s taste buds with weird flavors.
Recently, the entrepreneur and ice cream enthusiast successfully collaborated with the Middle East’s premier chef, Hattem Mattar, to create smoked caramel and candied bacon ice cream. To make the caramel sauce for the ice cream, Chef Mattar provided smoked fat from beef brisket and ribs.
While flavors probably aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, it’s fun to get the chance to try something new that might end up being enjoyed. An instant hit was the Saffron Gelato Aseeda Chocolate Fudge, a contemporary take on a classic Emirati treat and the result of a collaboration with chocolate maker Mirzam. The result was a product that combined science and creativity without resorting to artificial flavors, stabilizers and preservatives.
Initially, Canvas Gelato was just an Instagram-based home delivery service. Throughout COVID-19, things started to look up, so much so that Almarri had to enroll in ice cream making classes to master the craft and become the brain child behind the ice cream company with a Willy Wonka vibe headquartered in Dubai. Today, a number of restaurants and cafes in Dubai and Abu Dhabi offer flavors of Canvas Gelato. They can also be purchased online.
