Amanda Randall: Local Businesswoman Does It Italian Style
California-born Amanda Randall describes her family as “part gypsy.” They traveled from state to state, working in restaurants, hotels and everything in between. “Our lives were built around food,” she says. “When we gave directions to people, we didn’t use street names; we used restaurants.” Amanda stands up and begins to point at nothing in particular: “Pass the Wendy’s, bear right at McDonalds and then hang a left at Pizza Hut.” I thought I was the only one who did that.
She finally landed in Colorado, earning her MS in accounting and working for the government in the social services arena. The only problem with the job was that it wasn’t in food service. She returned to New Jersey (where she had lived previously), but was soon making plans to go back west. Her flight was scheduled for September 11, 2001. Oops…there she was, still in Jersey. Amanda took this as a sign that she should settle down for a while, so she placed an online ad for “friends to kill time with.” Her decision turned out to be the right one, as it wasn’t long before Deb Buniski appeared in her email box. Deb is a self-employed consulting engineer for civil/environmental projects, directing the cleanup and restructuring of ecological mishaps. She also has a knack for construction and design.
As an outdoor enthusiast, Amanda was immediately drawn to the sand and miscellaneous flotsam and jetsam on the floor of Deb’s car. Their mutual love for physical activity made them an instant couple. Amanda packed up and trekked south to Wilmington where they set up housekeeping. In keeping with Deb’s engineering and construction talents, the women began to build and buy houses for resale. When they needed to escape the drywall and dust, they would sneak even further south to Deb’s house near Rehoboth Beach. It would soon serve as a home base for both women.
Deb and Amanda loved to vacation in Italy. One fateful day, Amanda tried a cup of the homemade gelato for which the country is so well known. Remember; she had grown up in the food industry, with a working knowledge of every dessert and frozen treat. But this was, hands down, the very best thing she had ever tasted.
I guess a little background is in order. Gelato is an Italian version of ice cream, but that’s where the similarity ends. Less air is whipped into gelato, and it’s lower in fat than regular ice cream. Served at a higher temperature than its colder cousin, it releases richer flavor tones when slurped. In Italy, it’s made with fresh milk, natural flavors, extracts and seasonings. Amanda was hooked. Thus was born the Gelato Gal.
Their next trip to sunny Italy was built around the cool indulgence. I can just hear them now: “First, let’s go to Giada’s Gelato, then we’ll turn right at Luigi’s: The Place for Gelato, then we’ll hang a left and check out Angelina’s World of Gelato.” OK, enough. The point is that Amanda loved the stuff. She wanted to learn how to make it and how to sell it. Because of customs restrictions involving fresh and dried fruit, nuts, etc., she couldn’t get the necessary ingredients back to the United States. So they returned empty handed.
Undaunted, Amanda proceeded to sample every ice cream and gelato place in Delaware, discovering that the Italian version tasted better than pretty much anything else. She enrolled in classes (and, yes, the place is actually called Gelato University), and upon graduation plunked down major bucks for Italian-made mixers and batch freezers that she calls “the Ferraris of gelato-making equipment.” It wasn’t long before a commercial space on Coastal Highway (just north of Big Fish Grill) became the official Gelato Gal location.
There’s another rising star in Deb and Amanda’s family, and that is their extroverted little pug, Weekie. (If you do business with Gelato Gal, her corporate checks will say “Weekieworks.”) Weekie sprung from humble beginnings, but swiftly found his niche in show business when their home (expertly designed by Deb) was featured in Delaware Today and Delaware Beach Life magazines. Like so many politicians and celebrities, Weekie never met a camera he didn’t like. As photographers moved through the house, every photo seemed to include the little pug happily modeling for his closeup. Weekie’s cult status endures. Customers regularly inquire as to his latest adventures as they gulp their frozen favorites.
Amanda is forever dreaming up new flavors. “It’s not as much a recipe as it is a scientific process,” she says. Some are hits, some are misses. Her latest hits include Blueberry Ginger, Cardamom, Root Beer Float, Lemon Biscuit and the to-die-for Lemon Buttercake. She even dabbles in a few alcoholic varieties, including Pumpkin Gelato Martini and After 5 (tastes just like Baileys). Her Chocolate Zen took the grand prize for the best restaurant confection at this year’s Rehoboth Beach Chocolate Festival.
Some flavors don’t make the cut. Take tomato and basil, for example. Though it turned out to be, in Amanda’s words, “one big icy yawn,” she chalks it up as a “stepping-stone to gelato perfection.” I selflessly agree to test the theory by ordering another scoop of Chocolate Zen.
Bob Yesbek is a Rehoboth Beach resident. Email Bob Yesbek