Keeping with the sweet-dessert theme of this afternoon’s post, I wanted to share a piece I wrote about Morano Gelato in Hanover, New Hampshire. Last summer, Dan and I interviewed Morgan Morano, gelato chef and owner of Morano Gelato and talked about her famed gelato, sourcing local ingredients, shop decor, and her mentor Chef Antonio Cafarelli. Check it out below, if you’d like…
If you’re anything like us, you’re pretty serious about three things: dessert, pizza, and wine (not necessarily in that order and we strongly believe in dessert at any time of the day…pizza too…wine maybe wait until after lunch…or not :) We were lucky enough to sit down and chat with Chef Morgan Morano, another person who is very serious about dessert—specifically of the gelato variety. Morano, chef and owner of Morano Gelato in Hanover, New Hampshire, makes roughly 16 flavors of authentic, Sicilian-style gelato goodness every single day! Flavors like chocolate and red pepper, yogurt, amaretto, raspberry, Florentine cream, sweet milk, almond, mango, pistachio, hazelnut, and dark chocolate are often in rotation, but the selection changes depending on what ingredients are in season.
Nicolle Moore of Plainfield, NH (her current favorite flavor is cookie) working the gelato bar, and a sample of the rotating gelato flavors
Using the freshest ingredients sourced from local farmers, artisans, and craftspeople is one of Morano’s primary focuses, “I do it because it really is the best…It’s supporting the community and it tastes better.” Morano credits McNamara Dairy in Plainfield, NH, “I think McNamara significantly contributes to the success of the gelato. The creaminess. The flavor.” McNamara also contributes Maple Syrup to Morano Gelato that is collected from local trees and boiled on McNamara’s traditional wood fire arch. Another exciting collaboration for Morano Gelato is with Red Kite Candy in Thetford, VT. “They approached us in 2011 about selling their caramels here. Then we ended up doing a collaboration of a hazelnut caramel.”
Before even tasting the gelato, you’ll see and hear an Italian influence in Morano’s shop from the decor to the music to the employee’s aprons to the Italian candies and espressos (also available daily). “It’s completely, 100% me.” Morano says of the interior decor which is elegant with clean lines and sans wood-anything, which is very much unlike other Hanover, NH stores. The distinctive black and gold fixtures, which conveniently happened to be in the space before Morano Gelato began renovations in 2011, and the bold gold stripe that flows through the space were not originally part of the Morano Gelato brand, admits Morano. A bold pink and white color palette were intended, but Morano shifted towards a more “clean but warm and welcoming, authentic Italy” feel with gold, black, and white.
Another distinctive quality of the shop is the gelato bar. Instead of purchasing a gelato bar from Italy, Morgan worked with local designers and builders; Scot Christiano of Christiano Construction North, Inc. (Norwich, Vermont) designed the unique bar and Peter French (Norwich, VT) built the bar.
Katticus Metallicus (left), currently loving the salted caramel gelato, from England works with Nicolle Moore (right) to serve up the daily batch of gelato.
Morgan and the rest of the Morano Gelato crew-THANK YOU for having us in your shop for a visit!
One last thing…no interview is complete without a set of Mr. Sketch smelly markers and a few light-hearted questions. Here’s a peek at the interview in progress:
(Last answers read, “Dark chocolate-because I love it and I love black things and I’m a minimalistic person.” [Hanover?] “Pistachio, it’s green and sophisticated.”)
Thanks again, Morgan! It was a blast chatting with you.
If you find yourself in Hanover, NH, I’d highly recommend visiting Morano Gelato (57 South Main Street) for a sweet treat!
UPDATE: Congrats to Chef Morano on the expansion of Morano Gelato through a franchise system. We’re excited to see what’s next!