What happens when a 38-year-old Australian-Italian chef, who grew up in a Calabrese household eating traditional pastries, goes rogue and stretches the hard-and-fast rules of cannoli creation?
He ends up developing the secret recipe for a gluten-free cannoli shell and a repertoire of modern fillings like Aperol Spritz and New York lemon cheesecake that’s raising some eyebrows among Melbourne’s cannoli traditionalists.
“Cannoli is my favourite thing in the world,” says Dom Marzano, one half of the husband-and-wife team who owns in the Melbourne suburb of Preston.
“I initially wanted to provide a gluten-free shell as an option for people with coeliac disease. But I didn’t want the shell to taste like cardboard so I workshopped the recipe.”
Most of our customers come here because they see that we sell cannoli. The shell tastes like such a cracker that they don’t even realise that it doesn’t contain gluten.
Working with wife, Kate and a gluten-free flour maker, the team spent months developing the cannoli dough, experimenting with the fat content and stretchability until they created a crispy, bubbly, gluten-free shell.
The cannoli bar, which opened three months ago following a successful cannoli food truck following, is accredited by as 100 per cent gluten-free. That means there’s no wheat on the premises. All cannoli shells and fillings are gluten-free, as are all other products sold on-site, including Italian tortas and piadinas [Italian pita bread].
“Most of our customers come here because they see that we sell cannoli," says Marzano, who doesn't have a gluten allergy or sensitivity: only a passion for making cannoli accessible to all. "The shell tastes like such a cracker that people don’t even realise that it's gluten-free."
Eat Cannoli is a hit with locals who want a break from traditional flavours, selling over 200 medium-sized 'modern-inspired' cannoli daily.
“We offer seven cannoli flavours [at once],” he says. “I always sell the traditional cannoli – vanilla, ricotta and chocolate – which I sometimes create with a twist.” On any given day, vanilla cannoli could feature a cream brûlée end, while chocolate cannoli may include our homemade Nutella. “I then flick through my repertoire and rotate other non-traditional cannoli flavours. The most popular non-traditional filling is the New York lemon cheesecake, which is made with cream cheese.”
Other cannoli shells are stuffed with Amaretto, Aperol Spritz, roasted strawberry and Prosecco and pavlova fillings.
Dom and Kate Marzano are the proud owners of Eat Cannoli, a gluten-free cannoli bar in Preston, Victoria. (Image: supplied) Source: Supplied
“I also do this cool cannoli that we call ‘Darth Cannolo’. It’s a charcoal shell with a coconut panna cotta filling. But I infuse charcoal into the cream as well, so the whole cannoli is black and when you bite into it, it’s like tasting a Bounty chocolate bar.”
I have eaten 20-times my weight worth of traditional ricotta cannoli over the years, and I thought it was just time to just try something different.
Then there’s the café’s vegan offering: cannoli filled with curd made from seasonal fruit, sourced from neighbouring properties as part of the café’s produce barter system.
“I have eaten 20-times my weight worth of traditional ricotta cannoli over the years, and I thought it was just time to just try something different. But there are some people who don’t get it.
“I get a lot of flack from some Italians for doing cannoli with a twist. I once had a customer who came in and told me that cannoli should only be filled with ricotta and that you can’t make it unless you are from Sicily. I just said ‘please wait over there senora’,” Marzano says, laughing.
Despite Marzano’s passion for Italian cannoli themes, he concedes that his creations follow more of a cutting-edge Melbourne trend than Sicilian convention as he strikes the perfect balance between his love of Italian pastry and Melbourne food culture.
“Now, if I was trying to do this in Sicily I would be in a world of trouble because they just wouldn’t get it. But I’m not there – I’m in Melbourne. I am just trying to make cannoli that’s local to me, with local ingredients, that is about where I am. I actually believe there’s nothing more Italian than that.”
32 Wood St, Preston, Victoria, 3072
Wednesday – Sunday: 7.30am-4pm
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