Meet the Art Historian Behind Louisville’s Gelato Gilberto
Gelato Gilberto co-owner Kristin Gilbert dishes on authentic Italian gelato, finding flavor inspiration, and the Louisville spots she loves. Image: Gelato Gilberto
Kristin Gilbert has three great loves: her family, art history, and gelato. Before opening Gelato Gilberto with her husband, Justin, Kristin earned her PhD in Art History, writing a dissertation on the artists studying at the French Academy in Rome. In addition to fluency in the language, she also brought home a love of the iconic Italian treat. In between scoops, she talked to us about what makes true Italian gelato different, where she finds inspiration for new flavors, and what’s next for the family business.
Why gelato?
I fell in love with gelato when I studied abroad in Florence in college. The flavors were so vivid and the presentation so beautiful that I was enchanted. A few years later, my boyfriend-now-husband, Justin, and I were having gelato in Viareggio at carnevale time, and the man who sold it to us found out we were American and asked if we thought people in America would like gelato.
It was such a light-bulb moment. We decided on the spot that we would someday open a gelato shop. It really combines so many things that we value: Italy, beauty, community, fun, delicious food, and creativity.
Can you tell us more about “gelato artigianale”?
Gelato artgianale means we make our gelato completely from scratch using the hot-process method. Even in Italy, about 70% of gelato shops make gelato industriale using the cold process method, meaning they add premixed powders to cold milk or water to make their gelato.
Instead, we start with primary ingredients including local milk, cream, and cane sugar and cook our own gelato base on-site — no premixed powders ever!
You learned fluent Italian when starting the process of opening your business; why is that level of detail important to you?
I’ve always loved Italian and originally had to learn to read and speak Italian for art-historical research and museum work. It’s such a huge help for talking to gelato shop owners in Italy to learn about their recipes and techniques, as well as researching recipes in Italian, navigating international gelato trade shows, and speaking with Italian customers.
It makes a big difference in how authentic we can be in what we create and in our relationship to the product.
Can you tell us about the process of sourcing your fresh ingredients?
We get our milk from family-owned dairy JD Country Milk in Russellville, Kentucky. They come every Tuesday with about 60 gallons of top-quality local milk. We also only use real fruit in our gelato, never syrups or flavorings.
For instance, it takes about 100 hand-cut strawberries to make a pan of our fragola (or strawberry) sorbetto. If something has lime zest in it, like our Key Lime Pie gelato, somebody in the kitchen is back there hand-zesting limes. We hand-squeeze about 40 lemons for our lemon sorbetto. Sometimes things even get hyper-local — we use mint, basil, rosemary, and fig leaves from our gelato garden outside the store on Frankfort Avenue.
Where do you find inspiration for your flavors?
Everywhere! We’ve traveled to over thirty towns in Italy, trying gelato to find new flavors we’ve never heard of. We also go every other year to Rimini, Italy, to attend SIGEP, the world’s largest gelato convention, where we learn all about the latest flavor trends.
We also love creating gelato recipes from regular desserts and sweet treats like Coquito, Mango Lassi, or Halva. And sometimes we just come up with things all on our own — our Peach Mascarpone Stracciatella is based on a treat I used to make for myself after lunch back when I was a student in Florence, using ingredients I bought at the Mercato Centrale.
What’s one thing people might be surprised to learn about you?
I’m a huge Bruce Springsteen fan.
If you didn’t own Gelato Giberto, what would you be doing instead?
I’d be a writer, a museum curator, or both!
What are your favorite hidden gems in Louisville?
Oh my goodness, Louisville is just such a wonderful town for independent businesses; it’s hard to even know where to begin. Off the top of my head: Kiwa, Holy Grale, Haymarket, Paul’s Fruit Market, Luigi’s, Lotsa Pasta, Good Belly, Sweet Colada, Wagner’s, Payne Street Bakehouse. I know I’m leaving out some amazing places I love. This town is full of them!
Where can we find you after work?
Getting an icy cold classic daiquiri at Pretty Decent across the street from our Frankfort Avenue store. It’s not always on the menu, but John, the owner (and a consummate bartender), will make one for me, which is wildly kind and hospitable.
What’s one piece of advice you would share with a small business owner just starting out?
I have two: get an accountant before you do anything, and don’t pick a name for your business with too many letters!
What’s your best piece of advice?
“Only connect.” It’s a quote from one of my favorite writers, E. M. Forster, in his book Howard’s End.
What’s next for Gelato Giberto?
Right now, I’m working on a book called Gusto: Our Gelato Life, a food memoir that tells the story of our family’s move to Italy to learn how to make gelato — while telling the history of all the flavors we’ve made along the way.
We’re also hosting our second annual GelatoFest on Sunday, September 20, from noon to 9 p.m. at our Frankfort Avenue store at 2240 Frankfort Avenue. It’s going to be bigger and better than ever, with live music all day, authentic Italian cuisine, appearances by cast members of the Kentucky Opera, art activities, and an Italian marketplace.
LIGHTNING ROUND!
What’s your personal favorite flavor at Gelato Giberto? My favorite flavor is actually Yogurt. It’s not frozen yogurt, it’s a yogurt-flavored gelato that’s very popular in Italy but fairly rare here in America. I get it whenever I see it in a gelateria!
What’s your go-to coffee order, and where? Medium hot latte with whole milk at the Heine Bros. on Frankfort Avenue, where they have the absolute sweetest staff! They keep Gelato Gilberto caffeinated!
What’s a Louisville restaurant dish you can’t get enough of? I love the Sting Like a Bee pizza at Lupo. It drives my husband crazy because I won’t get any of their other wonderful pizzas.
Last great book you read? All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringely–a glorious transformational book!
Three great products that get you through the day? Maldon Salt, my stovetop Moka espresso maker and electric frother, and The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid.
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Beth Clayton
For over 20 years, Beth Clayton has either been working in a newsroom or pitching one. A natural storyteller and word nerd from the moment she could pick up a pencil, she earned her journalism degree from Butler University and spent the next decade as a writer, reporter, and editor. She now lives in Louisville, KY with her husband, three kids, and a very bad dog, and loves immersing herself in old lady hobbies such as houseplants and macrame.