BYU NewsNet - Maestro of European desserts

Tucked away in downtown Provo, a quaint European style gelato cafe resides on Center Street just east of University Avenue.

For two years, Maestro’s Gelato Cafe has served a variety of gelato flavors to the Provo community. Chris Stefanciw, a gelato maker and brother of the owner, said some of the most popular flavors are pink grapefruit, raspberry and strawberry. The most popular dairy flavor is Donatella, a nutty chocolate mix.

“My favorite is separate scoops of hazelnut and chocolate gelato, similar to Donatella,” Stefanciw said. “I like the rich, creamy, nutty flavor.”

The primary difference between gelato and ice cream is the intensity of the flavor because of the amount of air used while making the gelato. Stefanciw said gelato requires 60 percent less air than ice cream, thus making the gelato denser than ice cream.

“I like the change and variety of flavors of their gelato,” said KC Cowles, a recent UVU graduate.

In addition to gelato, Maestro’s offers crepes and hot chocolate. An assortment of fruit and sugary combinations are available for the crepes. Every Saturday at the Provo Farmer’s Market, Maestro’s makes a version of European waffles sprinkled with sugar. Stefanciw said in the future they hope to make the waffles available at their cafe also.

Alex Stefanciw opened Maestro’s after spending time in Europe. He returned to Provo and wanted to start a European-style cafe.

“Gelato is a staple dessert around Europe, so it was an automatic starting point for the cafe,” Chris Stefanciw said. “Eventually [Alex] hopes to have a full European cafe, but right now we just have desserts.”

A warm unique atmosphere surrounds customers as they eat either inside the cafe or at the outdoor tables. Maestro’s continues the European theme by supporting student and local artists by displaying their original artwork on the walls.

“When I eat gelato I want the European experience,” said customer Brookie Cowles. “Maestro’s is great because it is a completely unique experience that can’t be found anywhere else in Provo.”

Growing mainly through word of mouth, the cafe recently opened a Twitter account, maestrosgelato. They post new flavors and the promise of potential discounts.

“If we get a certain number of followers, then we want to post discounts through Twitter to get customers coming in,” Chris Stefanciw said.

The primary customer demographic of the spring and summer terms is students and families. The cafe’s busiest season is the end of summer and fall semester because of the weather and students.

“We get mainly groups of friends or dates here,” he said. “Sometimes we have had proposals occur here also.”

The cafe caters weddings or parties by providing gelato, crepes or waffles.

They are opened from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to midnight on the weekends.