Photo: Max Evry for Mandatory
Christina Bartoli is the executive chef at Little Italy’s Gelso & Grand in New York City, a rustic Italian cuisine restaurant that likes to have a little fun with its food. They offer old-time classics with a modern twist, and one of their most famous items is their cannoli, a rotating series of foot-long creations unique to this restaurant. Recently, Warner Bros. Pictures reached out to Bartoli to design one of these super cannolis to tie in with the release of The LEGO Movie 2: The Second One, currently the No. 1 movie in America.
“They just sent us an email and said, ‘Hey, we really like this designed cannoli you do. We think this could represent us really well,'” Bartoli explained. “They asked us to make a mock idea and gave us a timeframe. We sent it over and immediately they said, ‘Let’s do it!'”
After rewatching all the previous LEGO movies as well as the trailer for the new film, Christina Bartoli developed a concept that would not only be rich, sweet, and tasty but tie into the film’s story.
“What they were looking for was to highlight the two main characters, Emmet and Lucy/Wyldstyle,” said Bartoli. “They also wanted little whimsical characters from the movie thrown into it, but the main thing was to give the attitude of those two characters, to which I think I did a pretty good job! Lucy’s supposed to be a little spunky, a harder shell, and Emmet is just warm and fuzzy all over.”
Under an intense deadline, the Gelso & Grand team managed to put together a creation that goes beyond mere dessert and into the realm of edible art.
“We had 10 days from start to finish,” she reveals. “Ten days to have a design sent over, order all the things we needed to make it, and have one locked and ready to go. The most difficult part of it was getting the right stuff: What color schemes were available, and what could be shipped to you in a short amount of time. In the end, Warner Bros. said it perfectly represented the two characters from the movie to a T!”
The official LEGO Movie 2 cannoli is currently available at Gelso & Grand for $25, and feeds two to three people. It will be available through the end of February.
You can view the step-by-step making of Gelso & Grand’s The LEGO Movie 2 cannoli in our exclusive gallery below!
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Photos: Max Evry for Mandatory
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LEGO Movie 2 Cannoli
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Gelso & Grand at 186 Grand Street in Little Italy
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Executive Chef Christina Bartoli Created The Official 'Lego Movie 2' Cannoli
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Ingredients Include: Sprinkles
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Star-Shaped Butter Cookies
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3-Layer Rainbow Funfetti Cake
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LEGO Jellies (made in-house)
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Mixed Berry Swirl Filling
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Orange Creamsicle Swirl Filling
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Cannoli with 24K Edible Gold Dust on the Shell
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Emmet Side: White Chocolate, Orange and White Jimmies, and Edible Gold Star Glitter
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Wyldstyle Side: Dark Chocolate, Merry Bright Sprinkles, Blue Sugar Shred, Black Sugar, and Edible Purple Glitter
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Plated
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Emmet Side Being Filled
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Emmet Side with a Swirl
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Wyldstyle Side Being Filled
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Wyldstyle Side with a Swirl
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Cookies Decorated by Hand with a Food Safety Pen
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Cookie Placement
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Cake Placement
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Cotton Candy Placement
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Twizzlers Hearts, Gold Star Candy, and a Melange of Unicorn-Style Sprinkles
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Sprinkle Placement
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LEGO Gummies (Lemon/ Orange/ Cherry) Made with Gelatin, Fruit Puree, and Lemon Juice
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Gummy Placement
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Gummy Placement
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Unikitty Paper Topping
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Unikitty Placement
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The Finished Product
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Chef Bartoli with Her Creation
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Smash the Cannoli with This Hammer
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Smashy Smashy
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Destroyed and Ready for Consumption
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The First Bite
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Gelso & Grand Also Provides Special Prizes with Each Cannoli, Like: An Umbrella Prize
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A Shirt Prize
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A LEGO Prize
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A Placemat Prize
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A Sticker Prize
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Take the Leftovers Home
