In an effort to elevate the standard for extravagance in frozen desserts, Ahmad Almarri launched Canvas Gelato in 2017. Welcome to the bizarre world of ice cream flavors that not only tempt your taste buds but also leave you intrigued and wanting more.
Canvas Gelato offers new flavors to daring individuals who find vanilla too bland and chocolate too boring and are willing 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 gelato with Emirati pumpkin pudding.
Five years after its inception, his eccentric flavors are still as adventurous as ever and exceed expectations. Peanut butter and jam with hibiscus gelato, mandarin and black tea sorbet, and goat cheese gelato with balsamic fig jam are among more unusual concoctions.
Almarri claims he entered the ice cream industry to offer superior gelato with deeper flavors made with natural ingredients. The reason behind his company name is that he views ice creams as a blank canvas on which he can unleash his wildest concoctions.
Almarri says he enjoys thinking outside the box and tantalizing people's taste buds with odd flavors.
Recently, the entrepreneur and ice cream aficionado collaborated quite successfully with the first pit-master chef in the Middle East, 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 that was taken from beef brisket and ribs.
Although the flavors are probably not 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 Saffron Gelato Aseeda chocolate fondant, a contemporary spin on a classic Emirati treat and the result of a collaboration with bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturer 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 began to improve, so much so that Almarri had to enroll in ice-cream making courses to master the craft and become the brain child behind the ice cream-making enterprise with a Willy Wonka vibe headquartered in Dubai. Today, a number of eateries and cafes in Dubai and Abu Dhabi provide flavors of Canvas Gelato. They can be purchased online as well.
