My connection to the world of food started with my grandmother

My grandmother served gelato in her own shop in Italy, and she and her sisters resurrected the epicurean magazine La Cucina Italiana, which they managed for decades. By the time she retired, she had written a library of cookbooks and had become one of Italy’s most beloved recipe book writers. She was the first person to teach me how to cook, and her legacy has always influenced me.

When I was fifteen, my family left our farm in Tuscany and settled in Dallas, where my father opened the restaurant MoMo Italian Kitchen. For more than thirty years, I worked with him to offer guests authentic and honest flavors from my homeland.

My approach to making gelato is rooted in Italian traditions, prioritizing a respect for ingredients, simplicity, and time-tested methods.

Living in Dallas has been a strong influence, however, and my style can best be described as “Italo Texano.” The product I create is fused from my heritage, the influences of my life in Texas, and my heart. I can’t wait for you to try it.

A marriage of tradition and the most advanced technology

To bring you the best frozen desserts we can make, we use our knowledge of traditional methods and marry it with the latest, state of the art techniques and machinery.

About Carlo “Botolo” Gattini

Born in Milan and raised on a farm in Tuscany, Carlo Gattini always felt he was born to be a gelatiere. His grandmother, Fernanda Gosetti, began her career serving gelato in her own latteria (dairy shop) in Emilia-Romagna. Later, she resurrected and edited the iconic epicurean magazine La Cucina Italiana with her sisters, and authored so many cookbooks that she came to be known as the Julia Child of Italy. It was she who taught Carlo to cook, and make pastries.

At 15, Carlo moved with his family to Dallas, Texas, where his father opened MoMo Italian Kitchen, a beloved neighborhood restaurant for over 30 years. Carlo helped serve classic Italian fare while exploring other passions—studying archaeology at the University of Texas at Austin and later pursuing a career as an airline pilot.

Carlo’s lifelong passion for Italian desserts led him back to Italy, where he studied at Carpigiano Gelato University in Bologna and apprenticed under a gelato master. He also trained as a pastry chef, mastering the creation of cakes and confections rooted in Italian tradition. With these skills, Carlo returned to Dallas to open Botolino, giving North Texas its first true artisan gelateria.

“For Italians, gelato is an integral part of daily life — people have it every day,” he says.

“It’s a moment to slow down, savor the present, and enjoy one of life’s great pleasures.”

Ingredients

Botolino gelati and sorbetti are made entirely from scratch, using the finest ingredients from Texas and around the world. Among them:

A2A2 Milk from pasture-raised cows on Volleman’s Family Farm in Gustine, Texas
Chocolate: World-class Valrhona chocolate, a 100-year-old certified B-corporation business dedicated to fair-trade and sustainability
Coffee Beans from Noble Coyote Coffee Roasters in Dallas, Texas
Vanilla Beans from Sava Vanilla in partnership with local Madagascar growers
Fruit: All natural, Boiron frozen purees.
Hazelnuts: Tonde Gentile della Langhe hazelnuts from a family farm in Piedmont, Italy
Pistachios: Sourced from the Marullo family business in Sicily

Botolino Flavors

Each Botolino shop features 16 flavors of gelato and sorbetto at any given time — eight classics always in the lineup and eight flavors in rotation. Currently, there are more than 50 flavors, with new creations continuously in development. They include many dairy-free and vegan selections.

Classics:

Gianduia: Valrhona chocolate, Tonde Gentile della Langhe hazelnuts; milk, cream
Don Pistachio: Bronte pistachios from Marullo Pistachio, Sicily; milk, cream
White Coffee: Cold-infused Noble Coyote Coffee Roasters beans; milk, cream
Mascarpone & Figs: Caramelized fig variegate; mascarpone; milk
Milk Chocolate: Valrhona chocolate; milk, cream
Coconut Stracciatella: Coconut, dark Valrhona chocolate slivers; milk, cream
Vanilla: Sava Bourbon vanilla beans from Madagascar; milk, cream
Salted Caramel: House-made salted caramel; milk, cream

A few favorite rotating flavors:

Tiramisu: Happy Chick Farms eggs; Noble Coyote Coffee Roasters espresso; ladyfingers; rum
Alpine Almond Bar: House-ground Sicilian almonds; local Texas Honeybee Guild honey; handmade nougat; milk, cream
Big Mango: Sorbetto made from hand-picked Alphonso mangos from India
Blueberry Sorbetto
Turkish Coffee: Dark Noble Coyote coffee; green cardamom; milk, cream
Chocolate Sorbetto: Valrhona Grand Crù Araguani
Peanut & Jelly Sandwich (dairy-free): House-ground peanuts; strawberry variegate; cashew milk