Legendary singer Cher has turned her love for Giapo's chocolate gelato into a fun collaboration. Photo / Getty Images
Legendary singer Cher has turned her love for Giapo's chocolate gelato into a fun collaboration. Photo / Getty Images
Cher’s got your sweet tooth sorted, babe.
It’s been years since the iconic American singer and actress last visited New Zealand, but her fond memories remain – so much so that she decided to solidify them with a special project.
After five years of planning, the 77-year-old star has taken her love for Auckland’s Giapo ice cream, mixed it with business and created a stunning collaboration.
Named “Cherlato”, the venture between Cher and New Zealand’s renowned Gelato artisan Gianpaolo Grazioli (Giapo) and his wife Annarosa, has resulted in six playful flavours that represent the singer’s captivating flare.
In a statement released this morning, the star spoke about her new gelato range, which will be available to her Los Angeles fans this weekend via a funky and bright-looking mobile gelato truck.
“It’s the gelato that gets you out of bed at midnight,” commented Cher. “It’s no secret that I absolutely love ice cream and gelato. When I tasted Giapo’s gelato while on tour in Auckland, New Zealand, it was the best I’d ever had. When I returned to his store the next day he had each flavor prepared for me. I loved them all. Giapo is truly the Michaelangelo of gelato.”
The range includes six flavours with fun names such as “Snap Out of It: Kefir & Cardamom”, “Breakfast at Cher’s: Coffee & Donuts”, “Cher XO Chocolate” and “SoCal’s Coldest Avocado on Toast”, and reflects Cher’s gelato favourites as well as Giapo’s “artisanal approach to gelato-making”.
Noting that it’s been a “long process”, the star said it was “well worth it” to get her favourite gelato home to LA, while Grazioli said he and his family-owned company are “proud” to work with the pop culture powerhouse.
Speaking to the Herald, he said: “Collaborating with Cher has been a tremendous honour and responsibility for Annarosa and I. We feel incredibly privileged to have the opportunity to work with such an icon.”
While the range is only available in Los Angeles at this stage, Grazioli would hate to see his loyal Kiwi gelato lovers miss out and reveals that the range will be making its way to his iconic Auckland shop soon.
New Zealand’s renowned Gelato artisan Gianpaolo Grazioli (Giapo) and his wife Annarosa.
“We are planning to hold a special Cher-lato day at Giapo, where Kiwis can come and experience the full Cher-lato menu,” he said. “We’re looking forward to welcoming gelato enthusiasts to our shop and sharing this exciting collaboration with them.”
As for what Kiwi fans can expect from the bold and innovative collaboration? Grazioli says each flavour, whether you’re enjoying a chocolatey scoop or Cher’s adventurous avocado and breadcrumb gelato, will “bring joy to everyone who tries them”.
