Hobart has a new waterfront destination for lovers of all things sweet.
Much-loved gelateria Gelato Messina and its sister bakery Shadow Baking will open their first Tasmanian store on Saturday, November 7, at Elizabeth Street Pier.
The combined store is only the third of its kind in Australia, following Marrickville in Sydney and North Adelaide, and brings two of Australia's cult brands to the island state for the first time.
Like all Messina stores, the Hobart iteration will feature 40 freshly churned flavours daily, incorporating 30 classics and 10 monthly specials. They will be accompanied by Shadow Baking’s signature pastries, weekly specials, toasties, hot coffee and summer drinks.
Both brands will offer a bespoke range of cakes with Messina serving four new gelato creations, and Shadow Baking stocking their three core cakes.
To mark the opening, both brands have created special products harnessing the Tasmanian flavour of Miellerie’s pure cold-extracted leatherwood honey, harvested from south-west Tasmania’s World Heritage wilderness.
Messina’s “Apple Of My Isle” (above) is a leatherwood honey gelato with caramelised apple and croissant crunch, while Shadow Baking’s Leatherwood Honey & Dark Chocolate Tart is filled with Leatherwood honey caramel and baked dark chocolate custard, topped with vanilla cream, leatherwood honey jelly and dark chocolate shavings.
Both specials are exclusively available at the new Hobart store from opening day, before the tart reaches other Shadow Baking stores from Tuesday, November 10.
Gelato Messina and Shadow Baking executive chef Tom Mitchell said: “Leatherwood honey is one of Tasmania’s great treasures, and we wanted our first Hobart flavours to honour some of the flavours unique to the island.
"We can’t wait to share them with locals and visitors on the spectacular Hobart waterfront.”
The new store will be open daily. 8am-9:30pm, Sunday-Thursday and 8am-10:30pm, Friday-Saturday.
# Gelato Messina has more than 30 stores nationwide.
