The only place that has my current recipes and my gelato is at 682 West Broadway with my partners in Vancouver, AVIK Café.

After opening Bella Gelateria in 2010, at the corner of the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Vancouver, a Persian family came in one night and asked if I had 'Akbar Mashti.' Having never heard of the flavour, being curious, I asked about it. They passionately told me about the memories of growing up in Tehran with the saffron, rosewater, pieces of pistacchios and frozen cream. I was drawn in by the story, the flavour and immediately started my path to learn how to make it. After several months of making and getting feedback from my Persian customers, I was fortunate to have discovered the right combination, the proper techniques. The story of Akbar Mashti in Vancouver started.

Yes, of course, why would you not include it. This flavour is about tradition, respecting the flavour and its history back when it was invented in Iran, not trying to westernize it. Akbar Mashti is named after the person who invented the flavour in the 1920s. Why would you change it??? I have noticed some Vancouver gelato and ice cream shops and owners, some who have worked for me, using the name Akbar Mashti, but not putting in the pieces of frozen cream in the flavour. Why are they not respecting the flavour or the person who invented it??? If you want to change the flavour, remove a key part, then change the name to Saffron Ice Cream, and stop falsely using the name. History needs to be respected not changed by the western marketplace taking advantage of the name!! I believe we must protect the flavour, and yes I gladly put the pieces of frozen cream in my Akbar Mashti. Not interested in westernizing this National flavour! We should be respecting the flavour and the person who invented it. I do and my flavour does!

Over the years Persians would come to my former gelato shop, Bella Gelateria, at the corner of the Pacific Rim Hotel in Coal Harbour, Vancouver. My reputation and word spread through Vancouver to the North Shore, to Tehrangeles, to Tehran, about this Canadian guy, an Italian Gelato champion, who was making the best Akbar Mashti they ever tasted. People thought that a Persian owned the shop, or a Persian must be making the ice cream, and they would always be shocked when they found out I was not Persian. Then one evening in my shop a group of people came in and one lady, who was Persian, after trying my Akbar Mashti, she looked in my eyes and said, "You must be Persian'! She yelled to her friends that ‘This is as so good. Better than I remember back home.” Not stopping, she said to me and all her friends, “I cannot call you James, you are Jamshid, Jamshid Bastani." And thus, the name ‘Jamshid Bastani’ was given to me and Persian’s all over the world got to know about this guy in Canada who was making Akbar Mashti and Persian ice cream flavours in his shop. Now I only make my gelato at one location in Canada, 682 West Broadway!

Yes, I have regularly have 12 other flavours of gelato available, which change weekly and change with the seasons.

One year when I was representing Canada at the World Gelato Competition in Italy, I wanted to show the world Akbar Mashti, so I chose it as one of my 5 flavours being presented to the panel of 12 International Judges. Never had Akbar Mashti been presented on the world gelato stage! But I was so impressed with the flavour, that I believed it was time at an international gelato competition for the world to taste one of the national treasures of Iran – Akbar Mashti. To this day, years later, I am so proud to make it and tell every customer about the rich history of Iran, the beautiful people and of course about Akbar Mashti.

It was easily ‘Faloodeh Shiraz’ that was a huge challenge from the design to the balance and the finished flavour. I remember standing in the kitchen at Bella Gelateria, trying to perfect the noodles and trying to figure out ways to add them into the flavour. One time I even cooked the noodles and hung each one on a drying rack for hours. Then I was trying to figure out how to put them back into the ice cream while the machine blades were turning and not having the noodles break into small little pieces. Another time, after I put the noodles into the machine, trying to keep them long, and not break into tiny pieces, they were so wrapped around the gelato blade in the machine, I had to use scissors to cut them out. I still smile and laugh thinking how determined I was to perfect this one flavour.

Yes, I went to Italy, the home of gelato to learn. I first took a on-line introduction course to gelato, fell in love with it immediately. I really wanted to learn directly in Italy, so studied for a month learning from articles, books and started following some gelato instagram accounts. Then I flew to Italy and went to my first gelato school at the the Culinary School of Italy down in the south, Calabria to a small seaside city of Soverato, Italy, Having the foundation and making gelato there at the school, I then decided to learn more and went to the world famous Carpigiani’s Gelato University in Bologna, Italy. I then went to the largest gelato trade show in the world in Rimini, Italy, SIGEP. The Exhibition is 4 days with over 1,000 exhibitors covering gelato equipment and ingredients, pastry and coffee. I met with 100's of exhibitors studying, learning, meeting to lay the foundation which would eventually be my opening of Bella Gelateria on June 28, 2010.

No-Rooz translated means "New Day" that starts the beginning of the year, It has been celebrated over 3,000 years and is much older than the one celebrated in the Gregorian calendar. Many families and parties celebrate the New Year around food and ice cream/bastani as part of this 13-day festival and tradition. Other celebrations also include jumping over a small fire as you ask to be rid of any sickness and bad luck and wish for good luck and health in the new year. Also in Iran, the old year goes out with a bang, you will see children run through the streets, clanging on pots and pans, knocking on the neighbour’s doors asking for sweets. This tradition is called "qashogh-zany" or “spoon beating.”

Many times, groups of Persians’ customers would come to Bella Gelateria late at night to get my Persian ice cream. I saw the smiles as they wanted to celebrate over the ice cream, and I would quickly change my music playlist over to my Persian collection. The party would start and there were many happy people, eating happy ice cream, happy memories!