I met gelato maestro James Coleridge in 2010, His gelato is legendary, he’s a true master of his craft.

After a year hiatus, he’s making his scrumptious return to the Vancouver culinary scene and is set to indulge dessert fans with his award-winning gelato with the launch of Uno Gelato. James will open three Uno Gelato Vancouver locations in Kitsilano, Stamps Landing and Burrard Landing.

“It has been an incredible journey this past year and I am honoured to be able to share my passion and devotion to the artistry of old-world, handcrafted gelato with culinary fans everywhere,” says James Coleridge, gelato master and Chief Innovator and Visionary at Uno Gelato. 

Over the past year, James, has been studying the world gelato market and is bringing new recipes and innovative culinary techniques to this fresh start. Instead of white sugar, James will be using a combination of sugar alternatives including birch syrup from Quesnel, B.C. He is also partnering with local Avalon Dairy to use their organic milk for all dairy flavours. In addition, James will have a minimum of five vegan flavours working with raw coconut milk and water, locally crafted kombucha from Biota in East Vancouver and Canadian Springs water using activated charcoal.

“I am excited to embark on this new culinary adventure and my continued success is thanks to the amazing support of my wonderful family, friends, my delectable gelato fans and unbelievable partners who all believed in me from day one. “

The Uno Gelato gelaterias feature clean, fresh and modern design themes accented with comfortable European heritage flair, showcasing the very best local culinary artisans and the finest Italian gelato production equipment. Uno Gelato is the first in North America to use the Italian-brand Cattabriga gelato pasteurizer machine with a homogenizer which will create a warmer and smoother gelato.

James prides himself with keeping Vancouver top of mind as an international culinary destination, competing and placing in international gelato competitions. He was named International Gelato Master of the Year in 2014 by the International Fair of Artisan Gelato (MIG), won the Gelato World Tour North America the same year, and was the double gold winner at the 2012 Florence Italy Gelato Festival.

In fact this September, James will be competing at the international Gelato Festival Europa All-Stars competition at the Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence, Italy, where he was invited as the only North American to compete against top gelato masters from around the world. He has been invited back to Italy to compete with his 2012 winning gelato flavour, “Toasted pecan, Vancouver Island sea salt and Canadian maple syrup”.

 Welcome back, Maestro!