First look at Sugar Man Gelato
Take a peek inside Alex Crawford’s new Sugar Man Gelato, open Friday, as he reveals the reason behind his shock July closure.
He transformed Adelaide’s pastry game – now Alex Crawford is at it again, this time with gelato.
Alex, aka The Sugar Man, on Friday reopens the doors to his cult loved Hutt Street shopfront following a near-three-month hiatus.
He’s ditched croissants for cones and has developed a menu he hopes will challenge and delight fans new and old.
Think, a rum ‘n’ raisin on steroids-style whipped ricotta with sangiovese poached figs (courtesy of Singing Magpie Produce’s Black Genoa semi-dried figs); yuzu with salted coconut milk and Thai Basil; and salted butter caramel (made with award-winning Dairyman Barossa butter) with crunchy chunks of “toasted sourdough”.
Flavours are big (“when you think you have enough, you add a bit more,” he says) and showcase Australian producers. That also means a zero-paste policy.
“Everything is made from scratch,” says Alex, who has developed the concept alongside business partner Stephanie Taylor. “We don’t compromise – there are no artificial pastes that so many ice cream shops use.
“We’ve got some of the best pistachios from NSW – let’s celebrate them. They’re gorgeous and green and A-grade quality, and our farmers work their arses off and I really think they need to be showcased.”
Alex reveals to SALIFE that his mental health was on the line and behind the shock July closure of his original The Sugar Man pastry shop, which he opened in March 2022. Demanding hours of pastry making and soaring produce costs had reached tipping point, he says.
“I was just not happy,” he says. “I felt like I’d done it. Then the margins started to tighten and we had to cut down on fresh produce, and it was hurting me.
“I was in a rut. It was the advice of family and people in the industry… (they said) ‘just stop. Stop the business. Take a breather, and come back’. I needed to figure out what I wanted to do in this industry, or get out.”
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After exploring options interstate, Alex said he fell in love with the “creative freedom” of gelato.
“If you’re going to use a fruit, or an alcohol, or a dairy, or whatever it may be, you can make it full frontal,” Alex says. “As soon as you eat it, that’s what you’re going to get.”
He and Steph are inspired by the likes of Fluffy Torpedo in Victoria, where flavours include sour apple juice with iceberg lettuce, and roasted sweet potato with “fireball caramel”.
It’s that adventurous approach to ingredient combinations, they say, that will separate Sugar Man Gelato from existing gelato shops, such as Messina in Kent Town and Bottega Gelateria.
Steph, who joined The Sugar Man as Alex’s sous pastry chef in 2024, said “it was very easy to see once we started doing little runs of it that Alex’s spark was back”.
“We’ll have a test machine out the front to offer up some weird and whacky flavours,” she adds.
Some of the quirkier experiments so far have included aged parmesan gelato, and Kewpie with salted lime and spiced rum, which Alex describes as “essentially a margarita”.
Most of the current 12 flavours on the menu are gluten-free and four are vegan – including an incredible single-origin 65 per cent Grenada dark chocolate.
And while the original shopfront was takeaway only, the new fit-out features some bench seating. Come winter, there’ll be some baked goods such as cookies – but no croissants.
“We’ve sold our machinery,” Alex says. “I’m gung ho on this.
“It’s a cool vibe and something different for Hutt Street. I’m so happy.”
The Sugar Man Gelato at 197 Hutt St, Adelaide, is open Wed-Sun 12pm-930pm; from December, it will be open daily 12pm-1030pm.
