Scoops & Spirits: Tanguy Charbonnet and Rio Olivetti x Les Vergers Boiron

This winter, two worlds came together. A bartender, an artisan gelato maker, united by the frozen fruit purées of Les Vergers Boiron, the starting point for a collaboration that bridges the glass and the spoon.

Australian Cocktail Champion Tanguy Charbonnet and Rio Olivetti of Mondo Gelateria set out to explore something unexpected: what if a cocktail and a gelato could become one experience? The result is two pairings, Winter Kiss and Fleur Mist, built around the premium frozen fruit puree range from Les Vergers Boiron, distributed across Australia by Eustralis Food.

Meet Rio and Tanguy

Meet Rio Olivetti

Rio Olivetti has been part of the hospitality industry for more than 14 years, currently working across Mondo Gelateria, LaDoro, Numero IX Cocktails, and the Olivetti Group. Throughout his career, he has been driven by a passion for exceptional ingredients, flavour innovation, and creating experiences that bring people together. His work sits at the intersection of artisan gelato, beverage culture, and modern hospitality, where tradition and creativity coexist in every spoonful and every sip.

What excites Rio most about gelato is its ability to tell a story through flavour, texture, aroma, and emotion. His philosophy has always been to respect the ingredient first, allowing its natural character to shine while using technique and craftsmanship to create something memorable and unexpected.

Meet Tanguy Charbonnet

Born in Saint-Malo, France, Tanguy Charbonnet has been working in hospitality for more than 20 years. Named Australian Best Bartender 2025 at the Australian Bartender Bar Awards and recognised in the Top 100 World Class for 2024, 2025 and 2026, his approach is always focused on flavours, balance, and creating memorable experiences for guests. He enjoys working with quality ingredients and exploring new techniques while always respecting the product itself. Through his career, he has had the chance to collaborate with many talented people and continues pushing his creativity behind the bar.

The Concept behind a cocktail and gelato paring

Both cocktail making and gelato production work around the same fundamentals: texture, temperature, flavour, and emotion. A cocktail brings structure, aromatics, and freshness, while gelato adds richness and texture. When balanced correctly, they elevate each other and create a unique experience. That is exactly what Tanguy set out to explore.

Meeting Rio was, in Tanguy's own words, "an incredible moment." His passion and creativity pushed Tanguy to imagine combinations of flavours where the cocktail could shine through the gelato, while the gelato transforms the cocktail experience in return.

For Rio, the collaboration was "a natural meeting of minds." Tanguy's remarkable understanding of flavour, combined with his artisanal and highly creative approach to cocktails, opened the door to a unique conversation between gelato and mixology. Together, they explored how cocktails could inspire gelato and how gelato could transform the way a cocktail is experienced.
What makes these creations special is the way flavour, texture, and technique come together with purpose. Every component was carefully considered to create balance and harmony, ensuring that both the gelato and the cocktail remain complete expressions on their own, while becoming something even more memorable when enjoyed together. As Rio puts it: "Both cocktails were designed to work in harmony with the gelato while still standing as complete cocktails on their own."

The Creations

Winter Kiss

Winter Kiss is inspired by the classic Bramble cocktail. Tanguy wanted to create a richer and more textured version where the fruit becomes the heart of the drink, using Les Vergers Boiron Blackberry puree infused into gin sous vide at 62°C for two hours. "It allows deeper extraction and integration of the blackberry into the gin while keeping elegance and freshness," he explains. "The challenge was creating acidity and balance without using lemon, which is achieved through the shrub."

To complement this vision, Rio developed a Cassis Calamansi gelato. The richness of cassis deepened the dark berry character of the cocktail, while calamansi introduced a vibrant citrus lift that brought clarity and energy to the palate. As Rio describes it, the gelato created "a seamless dialogue with the cocktail, allowing each layer to unfold gradually." Rather than simply accompanying the drink, the gelato became an extension of the experience, adding texture, contrast, and a new dimension of flavour.

Winter Kiss will be available for a limited time at Jackalope, hotel & restaurant bar on the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne, from mid-June.

The Creations

Fleur Mist

Fleur Mist was imagined from the classic French 75, inspired by the original version made with Calvados. Tanguy built the cocktail around the Pear, Elderflower, and Orange sorbet as its central base, paired with a triple citrus cordial made from leftover citrus for a more sustainable approach, alongside Calvados and sparkling wine. "The technicality comes from building a delicate structure around the gelato without overpowering it," Tanguy explains. "The cordial brings freshness, while the sparkling element keeps the drink light and elegant." The final touch of gold paper highlights the celebratory nature of the drink.

For this pairing, Rio created a sorbet where pear provided soft orchard fruit notes, elderflower contributed delicate floral aromatics, and orange brought brightness and a lingering citrus finish. "When paired with Fleur Mist," Rio notes, "the sorbet softened the sparkling edges of the cocktail while amplifying its fruit and floral character, creating a balanced and immersive experience where every spoonful and every sip revealed something new."

Working with Les Vergers Boiron

For both Tanguy and Rio, the choice of Les Vergers Boiron was clear from the start. Tanguy describes their products as offering "a splendid range of flavours that are rich, elegant, and very expressive." Behind the bar, they allow him to work with consistency and precision while keeping the true character of the fruit. He also values the sustainable aspect and the respect the brand has for its products. "Their fruit puree range bring intensity and freshness," he says, "which is essential when building balanced cocktails."

Rio shares the same conviction. For him, Les Vergers Boiron provided the purity, intensity, and consistency needed to build flavour profiles with confidence while remaining true to the natural expression of the fruit. Their commitment to quality and sustainability closely reflects the values that underpin Mondo Gelato and their approach to artisan production.

Eustralis Food distributes the Les Vergers Boiron frozen fruit puree range to bars, restaurants, patisseries, and gelato producers across Australia.