As a focused woman in the restaurant industry, chef Elinn Hesse often had a certain adjective applied to her (followed by an even less-friendly noun): cold-hearted. Now, she’s taking the term and turning it into the name of her upcoming gelato shop, which will open in Plaza Midwood this summer: Cold Hearted Gelato.

Chef Elinn Hesse will open Cold Hearted Gelato in Plaza Midwood. Photo courtesy

“That’s just sort of been something people say, and everyone sort of was like, ‘Oh, it’s a negative thing,'” she says. “I took it as like a positive thing. I took it as, oh, I’m independent. Oh, I’m strong. Oh, I don’t take bullshit from people… So I think putting it into the name of my first spot, I really love it.”

Hesse’s gelato shop will be a stark change from Rita’s, the space’s former tenant. The colors will be a more muted palette, with clean lines typical in Scandinavian style and plenty of greenery. There will be a few tables and a lounge space, as well as a live-edge wooden bar in the window for guests to sit at. The current redevelopment at the plaza, where Akahana Asian Bistro is situated, will also add a patio.

With a background at some of the city’s most culinarily-adventurous restaurants, Bardo and Counter-, it’s no surprise that Hesse’s plans for gelato are far from the norm. While they’ll be served traditionally, as in no toppings, the flavor options will be anything but. There will always be a sorbet option — two during the summer, when more fruits are in season. Her vanilla gelato will be vanilla tonka bean, using a bean that lends additional notes of almond and cinnamon. She’ll also serve a miso hazelnut year-round.

“I really want to focus on four main botanicals, which is fruits, flowers, herbs, and spices,” Hesse says. “So very much extracting flavor from plants specifically versus, like, cotton candy ice cream.”

The other flavors among the 12 options will rotate.

All of the dairy will be locally sourced, as will the produce. None of the gelato will use artificial coloring. Hesse, who has known she wanted to be a pastry chef since middle school, says she’s excited to be able to focus all of her flavors into one bite instead of spreading them out throughout a plated offering.

“I’ve always made desserts, obviously, and my favorite part of making dessert was creating flavor combination,” she says. “And then I’d always be like, is this going to be a mousse? Is this going to be a cake? Is this going to be a crumb? And then I had to figure out that elements. So for our gelato, I just get to create and focus on the flavors.”

Hesse will remain at Counter- until the current menu, Cinema, ends on April 2. She’ll be on hand to manage construction at Cold Hearted Gelato following her departure at Counter-, but she says she still plans to keep herself involved in the restaurant world through participating in pop-ups and eventually creating custom gelato flavors for restaurants.