The Sweet Secret of The Gelato Mill

Just west of downtown, near the Parks Canada, Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site is a revitalized and reimagined area called the Canal District. It is a historic part of the city, with its origins from an industrialized era dating back to the 1800s and a thriving pulp and paper mill, with its impressive sandstone buildings. Today, the Canal District is an important part of Sault Ste. Marie’s tourism, event/entertainment, and culinary destinations. 

The Machine Shop is the primary centre of the Canal District, and right at the main entrance to the building is The Gelato Mill. It’s truly a dessert lover’s dream destination. 

I had the opportunity to sit down with the person who makes all of this possible. Paula Spadafora is the Pastry Chef at the Machine Shop. She is also responsible for running the Gelato Mill. “After graduating in the top three in my class at Sault College’s Culinary Arts Program, I worked in the food industry in various capacities in locations around the Sault. I earned my Red Seal certification (a Red Seal Cook is a professional chef who has earned a Red Seal endorsement, a nationally recognized standard of excellence in Canada for skilled trades, demonstrating a high level of culinary expertise and experience) and knew that I enjoyed baking more. I decided to specialize as a pastry chef. I am self-taught, as there were no pastry chef programs in Sault Ste. Marie was at that time and didn’t want to leave home to do that. I am now teaching the baking and culinary techniques program at Sault College.”

“I started working with The Gelato Mill over seven years ago. I asked the owner what his vision was, and he told me that he had faith in me to turn it into a successful shop and to do it how I saw fit. At that time, there was just gelato and a small amount of pastry. Today we have eight different flavours of gelato and two sorbets, as well as ten flavours of ice cream. Our baking selection has increased with our scones, fritters and our maple-glazed sour cream donuts, our biggest sellers. Recipes are my own or takeoffs from others. Everything we offer is made in-house from scratch, including the gelato and ice cream. Even the flavourings we add are house-made. For example, the lemon gelato is made with freshly squeezed lemons”, added Chef Paula.  

I asked about the difference between gelato and ice cream. Chef Paula said that, “ice cream has more fat and more cream with less milk and lots of egg yolks. Gelato has less fat made with more milk and less cream, with little to no eggs. The way they are churned makes a difference, too. Gelato is churned at a lower speed and has about 40% air, and ice cream is churned faster and has about 65% or more air in it. Because there is less air in gelato, there is more flavour, because it’s denser. Our gelato is made following authentic Italian techniques, and is unique in the Sault.”

One of the newest additions to The Gelato Mill is that they are now offering Elliot’s Ice Cream products. They bought the recipes, equipment and branding. Ice cream cakes, cones and toppings are all available.

“We have had really great feedback from our customers, with a lot of return business. Our shop is here for a nice, comfortable sit down to enjoy a coffee, tea or cold drink along with a pastry, ice cream or gelato or call to order a special occasion or seasonal cake or other pastry or bread requests. In the summer, we make multiple gelato and ice cream batches every day because they sell so fast. We love the positive responses from happy customers.”

Amazingly, the pastry kitchen is responsible for the baking and pastry items for all of the restaurants and catering, with only three staff including Chef Paula. Talk about efficient! I was so impressed with Chef Paula’s dedication to her craft and her employer. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else; we are treated like family here.”  That tells it all! 

The Gelato Mill (inside the Machine Shop)

83 Huron Street, Sault Ste. Marie
PH: (705) 759-9090
Hours of Operation: Open Daily 9 AM – 7 PM 
Web: https://canaldistrict.ca/dining/the-gelato-mill/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegelatomill/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegelatomill/

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