At long last, Petals Creamery dishes out Persian-flavored ice cream
More than two years ago, friends Nathan Gaudreau and Marcel Khorsand signed a lease to open their own Persian-flavored ice cream shop in Los Gatos. Their dream finally came to fruition last weekend, when Petals Creamery held its grand opening on May 17.
The name comes from the taste of the saffron flowers that inspires their product line.
“I love working with saffron,” Khorsand says. “It’s my favorite ingredient. And it became a symbol of what I do. I also work with rose a lot, so there are a lot of floral flavors in our food.”
Gaudreau explains that they faced delays making their way through the permitting process. And, he says, they had to wait for equipment to arrive from Italy.
Both Gaudreau and Khorsand grew up in the area, going to Leigh High School (Khorsand) and Saratoga High (Gaudreau). Khorsand designed much of the store, selecting the stained glass that hangs from the ceiling as well as the art posters.
They say that the food is a product of their cultural upbringing, and a full-circle moment for both.
Petals Creamery will dish up an array of unique flavors, including saffron pistachio, orange blossom cream, pistachio mint, baklava, Turkish coffee, London fog and watermelon sherbet.
They’re also planning to offer baked goods and pastries.
“I make a pistachio cupcake, baklava cannoli, rose cake and saffron crème brûlée, along with dripped coffee that will have cardamon and rose infused into it,” says Khorsand, the chef behind the recipes.
Gaudreau, a computer engineer by trade, says that 15 years ago he made a Facebook post sharing his dream to open a dessert shop. Let’s do it one day, was Khorsand’s comment. Both he and Khorsand share a love of serving others that was instilled in them by their families.
They hope to make their shop a popular late-night stop for Silicon Valley residents. Their aim is to serve customers from 11am to 8pm during the week and until 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
Though it’s taken more than two years since they signed the lease, the Petals Creamery team is confident that what they’ve come up with—from the shop architecture to the art on the walls to the food—will stand as proof that good things take time.
Petals Creamery is open daily at 5 N Santa Cruz Ave, Los Gatos. Follow on Instagram: petals.creamery
