Today we’d like to introduce you to Jesse Cowden.
Hi Jesse, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am 29 now, I opened the business when I was 28. I grew up in Utah. I served an LDS mission in Italy where I grew to love the people and culture there.
Coming home, I always wanted to get into the food industry. I debated for 7-8 years about either a Gelateria or a Pizzeria. I ultimately landed on a Gelateria and got to work.
Through researching the industry I got to know some amazing people and got in contact with the top Gelato Chef in the country. I was lucky to study with this chef and learn how to craft recipes from scratch how gelato is made in the top shops in Italy.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There are always struggles. The biggest ones would be your standard obsticles like city permits, building out the shop, learning to run a restaurant.
For me the biggest one is getting perfect recipes. When you make a gelato recipe it is all chemistry. However, even though a recipe “works” on paper doesn’t mean it tastes perfect. Sometimes I will make recipes once and they are awesome, sometimes I make them 10 times and still fail and need to put the idea on hold.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Vinci Gelato offers the most authentic and best gelato in the state of utah, and one of the best in the country. We are confident we can compete with every shop around the country because of our style of gelato.
There are many ways to make gelato from a pre-mix bag to semi artisinal, to full artisinal. We take the full artisinal route where we craft each recipe from scratch testing them 3-10X each to make sure they are perfect before we serve them. Most ice cream and gelato shops in the country fall somewhere in the middle and cut corners when it comes to creating recipes. We always craft from scratch and build our recipe around the ingredients.
We only use the best ingredients. We stay away from anything artificial. We only use natural ingredients and the best of the best such as Pistachios from Sicily or Local fresh cream.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Going to Santa Cruz California with my family. My dad is from Santa Cruz so we would go visit every summer. I loved going to a small hippie town and it became my second home. I have my favorite restaurants, know locals, have my favorite surf spots, and love everything about it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.vincigelato.com
- Instagram: @vincigelato
