THE STORY

March 2015… I, Kathy Turek, booked a ticket to Europe. I boarded a plane with one of my best friends and the next thing I knew, I was walking on ancient cobblestone streets trying to stay upright with an oversized backpack. Talk about adventure!

One really memorable day was spent in Rome.

Trekking around in the hot sun, my friends and I stumbled on a small gelato shop with a line of Italian business men wrapped around the building. At this point, if the dark haired gorgeous Italian men in tailored suits weren’t enticing enough, the smell of homemade waffle cones & fresh gelato pulled me in the door.

The gelato was scooped on the cone, melted chocolate was drizzled on top, and fresh vanilla whip cream finished it off. After one bite, my friends and I mutually agreed this was the best dessert ever made and we all continued to crave it the rest of the trip.

Coming home, I constantly shared my crazy travel stories, but frankly, would just not shut up about how good this ‘gelato’ stuff was. This talk went on for a few months and finally my Dad convinced me to do some research. Little did I know, there was an entire University dedicated to learning gelato, how to make it, and the art of this Italian craft. Research went on and the decision was made to make this dessert my next big adventure.

I repacked that oversized backpack, flew off to Bologna, Italy to attend Carpigiani Gelato University. While I was there, I was training under professional Italian gelato chefs & working alongside gelato entrepreneurs from across the globe. I spent days learning techniques for artisan recipes & creating high quality gelato. During hands on practice, I learned how to properly balance formulas, create my own unique recipes from scratch, and master the texture of this frozen treat.

Following school, I spent a couple extra weeks doing some recon & research back in Rome, exploring gelato shops & getting to become friends with the original shop owner that started my inspiration. I took notes on building ideas, machinery being used, and of course tried too many gelato samples. I flew home with my certificates in hand and that’s when this whim of an idea really became a reality.

April 2016, the LLC papers for The Knotted Cone Gelato Co. were signed (very scary, but equally awesome) and then summer months were spent building the foundation for The Knotted Cone; designing the gelato lab “kitchen”, the gelato truck, The Knotted Cone brand, and perfecting my own craft style.

September 1, 2016 was the first gelato selling day and as of today the rest of the story continues to be written. I’ve won several gelato world competition awards, judge’s favorite awards, and have become a local favorite. It's been a fun crazy awesome ride thus far and who knows, a girl can always dream that someday there will be a line of dreamy Italian business men waiting for my gelato! ;)