There's been a new item on the Boho Gelato menu ever since founder Seb Cole returned from Brighton And Hove Food And Drink Festival’s International Chef Exchange in Sicily.

“I knew what a granita was before I went,” he says. “But they weren’t something I did at Boho Gelato, until I learned how to make them in Sicily.”

Crafted from just water, sugar and the ingredients which give each type their individual flavour, the granita is perfect for any lover of the sorbet, or anyone who is lactose intolerant but missing ice cream.

“The better the basic ingredient the better your granita,” says Cole, who opened his Pool Valley ice cream shop more than four years ago.

“There are no other flavourings. If you get bad strawberries you won’t have a nice strawberry granita.”

Cole has been creating the Sicilian classic the St Clements in Boho Gelato, using orange, clementine and lemons.

But he has also designed his own recipes including lemon vodka; elderflower and chilli; Cherry Bakewell, using almonds and cherries; chocolate and lime; and strawberry, basil and black pepper, which he demonstrated at the annual Nivarata festival in Acireale, Sicily, in June.

At Nivarata Cole worked with granita-maker Nicola Scaccianoce to make his own recipes, judge a granita competition, and give an hour-long live demonstration on stage.

Next month Scaccianoce will return the favour, working with Cole on a stall in the Sussex And World Market on Hove Lawns on Saturday, September 6, and Sunday, September 7, using an imported Sicilian granita machine to make tasty creations, and even some cocktails.

And on Friday, September 5, the chef will make a Sicilian menu using cheese, antipasti, arancini and granita for the A Taste Of Sicily event. The meal will be accompanied by Sicilian wines selected by Butlers Wine Cellar.

Cole is looking forward to working with the imported Sicilian granita machine – which is open at the top so ingredients can be added in at different times during the process.

“I would love a machine for myself so people could watch it being made, but we’d need to get a bigger site,” he says.

“The drum for my machine is horizontal, like a washing machine, so you have to close the door to let the ice cream mix, otherwise it would all pour out.

“The way everyone stands around a vertical machine is a bit like the way you always get a crowd around a candyfloss machine at the fair!”

Cole has enjoyed a busy summer – helped along by the hot weather.

“We supply 25 restaurants in Brighton and the surrounding area, going as far as Reigate and Tunbridge Wells,” he says.

“We have been making at least 100 litres of ice cream every day – we’ve hit the capacity of the machinery so we need to expand production.

“I like being busy, but I’m looking forward to having a rest – I won’t be sad when the winter comes!”

Duncan Hall