Strawberries and cream have been served at Wimbledon since the very first Championships in 1877, and in that time roughly 28 tonnes of strawberries have made their way onto trackside plates over a single fortnight. It's one of those British food pairings that needs no explanation — sharp, sweet fruit against something cool and creamy, eaten in the sun while somebody nearby groans about a missed break point.
This year, we're doing it our way.
Why gelato instead of cream
Cream is lovely, but it mostly just sits there being rich. Gelato does something cream can't: it actually tastes of something. Our Strawberry gelato is made with less fat than ice cream and far less air than most cream-based toppings, so the strawberry flavour comes through properly rather than being muffled under a layer of double cream.
The strawberries we use are grown at Forde Abbey and North Perrott Fruit Farm, just down the road from our lab in Rampisham — picked ripe, puréed, and folded into the base with nothing artificial added. So when you put fresh strawberries on top of a scoop of Baboo Strawberry gelato, you're not pairing fruit with a dessert that's trying to taste like fruit. You're pairing fruit with fruit, twice.
How to serve it
This isn't really a recipe so much as an assembly — which is exactly the point. Wimbledon food should take five minutes, not fifty.
- Take a scoop (or two) of Baboo Strawberry gelato and let it sit out of the freezer for about ten minutes first — this is true of all our gelato, and it's when the flavour really opens up
- Hull and halve a handful of fresh British strawberries, ideally ones that still have some give to them
- Pile them straight on top, stems and all if you're feeling rustic
- A small glass or coupe works better than a bowl — it keeps the strawberries visible and makes it feel like an occasion, not just a snack
If you want to make it feel a bit more like Centre Court, a short glass of chilled English sparkling wine on the side does the job nicely. For an alcohol-free version, our Elderflower Sorbet Spritz (more on that soon) pairs just as well.
A flavour, not a formula
We've said before that we don't chase novelty for its own sake — Strawberry has been on our menu since the beginning because it's one of those flavours that's genuinely hard to get right. Too much sugar and you lose the fruit; too much stabiliser and you lose the texture. Ours has stayed simple on purpose: strawberries, milk, a little sugar, nothing else doing the talking.
That's really the whole philosophy behind Baboo in one dessert — good ingredients, treated properly, served without much fuss.
For cafés and venues
If you're running a café, farm shop or restaurant anywhere near a big screen this fortnight, strawberries and gelato is about as easy a specials-board addition as they come — minimal prep, high margin, and a dessert that sells itself on name recognition alone. Get in touch about stocking Baboo Gelato and we can talk through wholesale tubs and delivery.
Visit a stockist near you to pick up your Strawberry gelato
