The windows of his three ice cream shops, in the province of Milan, are covered with drawings by the schoolchildren who visit him to see how he makes Fiordipanna. A simple and genuine flavour that Osvaldo Palermo used as the name of his first ice cream shop, thus evoking right from the name of the establishment the philosophy behind his choices: transparent recipes and high quality products.
He’s been faithful to this philosophy since 1994 when he opened his first Fiordipanna with his wife Antonella in the main square of Cornaredo, north-west of Milan, following a passion he got a few years earlier, almost by chance.
At 20, young Palermo not having a very clear idea of his future ended up working for a big ice cream factory where he got a sound training. Meanwhile, his desire to learn grew, together with the wish to experiment so as to make his own unique and not standardised gelato.
Hence when he had the chance to take over an ice cream shop in 1994, Palermo didn’t think twice. His diktat, right from the start, was finding ingredients that would characterise his gelatos in terms of flavour, structure and authenticity. His research led him to use certified raw materials, high quality fresh Italian whole milk, fresh cream from Centrale del latte di Milano and noble ingredients.
This continued even when he opened the second Fiordipanna shop, in 2006 in Bollate with his in-laws Alessandro and Ornella, and 8 years later the third ice cream shop in Arese.
Even these days Osvaldo Palermo’s gelatos are born from the idea of offering flavours with strong tastes that stand out from one another, using noble ingredients paired with fresh fruit and nuts, spices, creams and sauces.
Osvaldo Palermo has banned hydrogenated vegetal fat, palm oil, preservatives, colourings and semi-processed products. A philosophy that led him to receive many awards. Try yourself by tasting his Zabaglione with moscato di Scanzo with whole-wheat biscuit with Tonka beans, Mascarpone with caramel sauce and coffee brittle or Almond and orange.
