Luxury, voluptuousness and frozen dessert. Dubbed "bayakuya", sleepless night in Japanese, the world's most expensive ice cream was recorded at Guinness World Records on May 18, 2023. A creation proposed by the Japanese brand Cellato, known for pushing the limits of opulence. With its ice cream, it propels the little summer pleasure to the rank of luxurious and exclusive product. Estimated value? 873,400 yen, or about 6210 €.
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An extraordinary recipe
How do you justify a bill of more than 6200 € for an ice cream? For the Japanese frozen dessert brand Cellato, everything lies in its unique composition: Parmesan, white Alba truffle, sake lees, gold leaf... To develop this extraordinary recipe, the company called on Tadayoshi Yamada, the famous chef of RiVi (1), a restaurant renowned for its fusion cuisine, based in Osaka. The chef then undertook a major work that required more than a year and a half of testing to develop the perfect recipe. If ice cream is talked about because of its exorbitant price, the primary ambition of this project was to offer a real culinary experience combining Japanese and European products.
A true tasting experience
Tasting is a ritual. The first step is to pour white truffle oil as the ice softens. The whole is mixed using a precious spoon, made by the artisans of Takeuchi in Kyoto. Although the Guinness teams did not have the chance to taste this creation, the Cellato staff, who had the opportunity to participate in the tasting session, described the ice cream as rich in flavors and textures. It would give off a powerful scent of white truffle that floods the mouth and nose, followed by the fruity and complex aromas of Parmigiano Reggiano. The sake dregs, a product of Japanese sake brewing, would appear at the end of the mouth as an apotheosis.
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The beginning of a gold collection
The Japanese brand does not intend to stop there. According to the Guinness Book of Records, other perfumes should soon see the light of day: "Even if Cellato has reached the record title, they are not resting on their laurels and plan to reveal other perfumes made from noble ingredients, such as champagne or caviar," reports Guinness in a statement. And you, how much would you be willing to pay to taste such an ice cream?
(1) Rivi, 1-16-28, Kyoumachibori, Nishi-ku, Osaka city.
