Gauthier
Indulge in Burgundian ice cream with fennel and apple at Gauthier
For happiness in a cone or a tub, you’ve got to go to the ice cream parlour Gauthier on the Befferstraat in Mechelen. Every morning in her workshop, Pascale makes her ice cream from scratch. From now on, you can also enjoy ice cream with a Renaissance touch: with stewed apple pieces, fennel and a topping of roasted buckwheat grains. Mmm, two scoops in a tub for you?
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Thanks to Margaret of Austria, Mechelen became the hotspot for everything hip and happening at the beginning of the 16th century. 12 Mechelen tastemakers have used the new and classic ingredients of that time to create the delicacies of today. |
Stewed apple with fennel
Pascale: ‘For Mmm ... Mechelen, I made an ice cream with pieces of stewed apple and fennel. There is a crunchy topping of baked buckwheat grains with a pinch of salt. The result is a surprise party in your mouth. Sweet, bitter and salty. Creamy and crispy. This ice cream has it all!’
‘Ice cream wasn't yet available at the court of Margaret of Austria in the 16th century. But thanks to the Italian influences, there had been experimentation here and there with sorbet avant la lettre. We also know from excavations and recipes that the combination of apple and fennel was popular in pastries and other sweets. Buckwheat was a staple product in the Renaissance. Basically it was the main food of the poor. People used it to make mash and pancakes. Pascale Gauthier spares you from the mash, and instead makes a delicious crunchy topping.’
Jeroen Van Vaerenbergh, The Food Archaeologist
Happy faces all round
‘The nice thing about my job is that I always see happy faces – from young to old,’ says ice cream maker Pascale, with a smile. ‘The most popular flavour in our salon is stracciatella. The larger pieces of chocolate in the ice cream are a hit with my customers. Strawberry ice cream is also a favourite: I get the fresh strawberries from a local grower. Here you can choose from all the regular classics. In addition, there are about 5 flavours that vary. For inspiration, I travel every winter to the ice cream fair in Rimini, Italy. And for the apple fennel ice cream, I enjoyed travelling 500 years back in time!’
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Trendsetter Italy Ice cream maker Pascale gets her inspiration from the ice cream country par excellence: Italia! Even in the 16th century, Italian cuisine was a great inspiration for Burgundian chefs. This is how they discovered new vegetables such as cauliflower and artichoke. |
Follow the waterways
Pascale Gauthier: ‘I am a born and bred ‘Malinois’. My father Edouard was the local chocolatier here in Mechelen for almost 60 years. In 2006, we started our ice cream parlour here in his former workshop. My tourist tip for visitors? Follow the water in the city. Mechelen has opened up a lot of waterways again, like the one nearby between the Zakstraat and the Muntstraat. To get a breath of fresh air after a busy day, I like to walk along the waterway to the towpath along the Dyle towards Muizen, for the green and for peace. Sublime!’
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About Mmm... Mechelen Mmm... Mechelen is a culinary route through the city, past 10 Mechelen tastemakers who will give you a taste of the cuisine of the Burgundian, golden 16th century. Discover the nine other delicacies at www.visitmechelen.be/en/mmm-mechelen. |
