by In Trieste
All photographs courtesy of Gelato Soban
Nights spent social distancing on the couch with a movie, or evenings kicking back on your balcony in the “red zone” this spring call for dessert, and gelato is sure to please. Gelateria Soban, which reopened its doors on Monday, 15 March (the day Friuli Venezia Giulia became the red zone) defies pandemic and invites you to try a scoop or two.
We interviewed Chiara Soban, the owner of the renowned gelato shop open in Trieste since 2019.
You reopened your doors on March 15th, the day FVG became the red zone. Was reopening in these crazy times a hard decision to make?
Chiara: We decided to reopen in March a while ago, of course hoping the situation would be better, but we were prepared for anything. For now our gelato shop on Via Cicerone will remain open from 11 am to 7 pm for takeaway only from Monday to Saturday. We will use Justeat for home delivery and will probably restart our own home delivery service, as last year, which you will be able to book via our website or whatsapp. Once a day we’ll deliver to Carso as well.
What do you think this season is going to be like?
It will definitely be unorthodox. For seasonal restaurateurs like ourselves it’s difficult to plan long-term but after last year’s pandemic experience we are prepared for every possible scenario. I hope things will pick up soon, and in the summertime we’ll be able to enjoy a nice ice-cream cone with a friend while wandering around town.
Tells us about Gelato Soban. Have you always wanted to be an ice-cream girl?
I come from a family of gelato makers. My parents met in Germany while working at an ice-cream parlor and that’s where it all began. Now they passed the torched and my brothers and I continue our family tradition- me here in Trieste, and they back in Piemonte.
Wonderful!
I didn’t always want to be a gelataia, quite the contrary. Even though I would always work at my family’s parlors during off school summer months, I always thought I would take a different road. I graduated from Lulm University in Milan and started working at a multinational company in the foreign trade sector. After that I spent a year in Albania doing volunteer work, which made me realize that my biggest passion was to make sweets. I’ve always loved bakery and it was only natural to start making gelato and biscotti, panettoni, jams, spreads and chocolates.
Why should everyone try Gelato Soban?
Because it is naturally made, suitable for all. We are constantly coming up with new flavors, using local raw materials. We also have vegan and gluten free flavors.
Fantastic!
Moreover, our continued experimentation and wish to evolve inspired us to write professional books to share our passion. I co-authored with my brother for Progetto Gelato book, which lets the reader into our world. We are very happy because we recently found out that the English version of the book is to come out imminently. From the very beginning our goal was to share the tradition of our gelato, the Italian tradition, which has been exported all over the world, and I believe we have successfully reached it.
