Meridith Ford's Cremalosa Awarded Best Ice Cream in Georgia - Restaurant Industry News and Resources in Georgia

Meridith Ford, Cremalosa gelato shop owner eating an ice cream cone — Cremalosa owner Meridith Ford. Photo by Heidi Harris.

Cremalosa, the gelateria from acclaimed Atlanta food writer Meridith Ford, has been selected as the best ice cream in Georgia on Food & Wine Magazine’s 2021 “The Best Ice Cream in Every State” list. Ford is featured alongside renowned ice cream makers such as Alabama’s Big Spoon Creamery, Mississippi’s Oxford Creamery and North Carolina’s Two Roosters Ice Cream.

Owner and Atlanta native Meridith Ford started out as a pastry chef and earned her pastry degree from Johnson & Wales University, where she also taught for seven years. She served as The Providence Journal’s dining critic and head food writer for over five years, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s dining critic and food writer from 2004 to 2010, where she earned a James Beard Award nomination for food criticism. She caught the gelato bug working in pastry for owner Riccardo Ullio of Atlanta restaurants Sotto Sotto, Fritti, Escorpion and Novo Cucina, where she developed the latter’s gelato program and studied with Italian masters who taught her Italian techniques.

Ford opened Cremalosa in February 2020. She showcases a dozen rotating flavors of gelato and sorbetto, all spun in-house on a Campacto Vario gelato machine imported from Italy. Crafted from local cream and farm-fresh ingredients, flavors include a mix of traditional Italian options, such as stracciatella and hazelnut, and creative offerings uniquely inspired by Southern desserts and iconic American cakes, cookies and penny candy. A current bestseller is Blueberry and Peach Shortcake, made with fior di latte gelato, blueberry preserves, peach preserves and shortcake.

With a focus on creating flavors incorporating seasonal produce, Ford now offers boozy shakes and seasonal frozen cocktails at Cremalosa. The shop’s flavors of the week include Strawberry Peach Margarita – strawberry peach sorbetto, tequila, triple sec & margarita mix; French 75 – created from one of three seasonal sorbetto, gin and prosecco; and Bellini – made with seasonal sorbetto such as blackberry mango and prosecco.

Last year, Ford also took home the award for “Best New Gelato” on Atlanta Magazine’s annual “Best of Atlanta” list.

“I’m so thrilled and honored to be on Food & Wine’s list,” says Ford. “It’s a dream come true, and we’re excited about the season with the many local summer fruits we have to mix and match for new flavors. Our peaches are from Fort Valley, Georgia, plus we have local blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. Figs are coming soon!”

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