Chocolate with salt flower from the Piran saltpans, stracciatella with Teran liqueur, or the flower of milk – fior di latte – with tarragon or walnut potica from a Styrian farm. Those are only three of the flavours you can find at the small ice cream shop Gelateria Romantika, located at the juncture of the Kongresni trg and Dvorni trg squares in Ljubljana.

"Gelato is not the same as 'sladoled', or American ice cream," explains our host Mateja Jerovšek. Her new work place has liberated her from the monotonous and lonely office work. She says that compared to gelato, ice cream has more air pumped into it, even up to 40 percent. Ice cream is more sweet and more fat. It can also contain refined vegetable oil. "Gelato is more compact, creamy and dense. It only has around 10 percent of fat, taken from sweat cream, and it has less sugar," explains Jerovšek.

"The gelato with tarragon or walnut potica was my idea. If others can sell ice cream flavours with cookies, I thought it was appropriate to offer something which is considered a Slovene specialty. All the ingredients are fresh and chosen with care," explains the maestra gelatiere (gelato master maker) Jerovšek. She received the title in 2010 at the distinguished Carpigiani Gelato University in Bologna.