Elementary School Students’ Roasted Sweet Potato Gelato a Hot Seller

By Hiroshi Sugihara / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

17:00 JST, January 11, 2026

A gelato flavor designed by elementary school students using sweet potatoes grown locally in western Tokyo has become the most popular item on the menu at a local gelato shop.

The Italian cream also provided a valuable learning experience for the children and the shop’s owner.

In September 2024, fifth-grade students at Dainana Municipal Elementary School in Musashimurayama, Tokyo, started learning about local production for local consumption as part of their community development studies course, which was designed to help the students deepen their understanding of and affection for their locality.

The children heard about the hardships faced by Verde, a gelato shop in the city that manufactures and sells gelati made from raw milk produced on its own farm, when it tries to develop new products featuring local produce.

The students decided to devise a new gelato flavor for the shop and give a boost to local production and consumption at the same time.

Some of the school’s fifth graders were split into 12 teams tasked with researching farm produce grown in Musashimurayama. The children came up with 12 ideas for flavors, featuring ingredients such as Sayamacha green tea, carrots and spinach. Verde lent the children a gelato-making machine, which they used to whip up test batches. The children, as well as their parents and school staff, tasted and graded each batch, and a roasted sweet potato brulee gelato was scored the highest.

Shop owner learns something new

Verde planned on commercializing the winning gelato. However, the locally grown sweet potatoes were already out of season and supplies were unavailable, so the plan was pushed back a year.

In September 2025, Verde started working on a refined roasted sweet potato brulee gelato recipe based on the one that the students designed.

On Nov. 27, the shop’s perfected product — roasted sweet potato with caramel gelato — started being sold. The dessert has a specially made caramel sauce mixed in with roasted sweet potato gelato, bringing out the umami of the potatoes and providing a hint of caramel.

The shop’s owner, Yuichi Motoki, raises dairy cows in Musashimurayama. He opened Verde in 1998. He takes pride in making gelato by hand alongside his eldest son, Kenta, 29, and the shop always offers 12 different flavors that change with the seasons.

Motoki, 56, was impressed when he sampled the roasted sweet potato brulee gelato in winter 2024.

“It had a delicious, rich flavor, and I could picture making it in my shop,” Motoki recalled. “I felt like the children had taught me the importance of thinking flexibly when making something new. It’s an extremely useful lesson I’ve used when creating new items for my shop.”

Product’s success thrills students

The students who perfected the roasted sweet potato brulee gelato by adjusting the quantities of the ingredient are now sixth graders.

Miona Furuya, 12, said learning about the local production for local consumption concept had been an eye-opener. “I want people to know more about reducing food waste and about the deliciousness of local produce,” she said.

Yuzuki Fujita, 12, got a thrill when she visited the gelato shop and saw how well the chilled treat she helped create was selling. “I was happy that customers chose the gelato that we invented,” she said.

Yui Sato, 11, said she wanted to thank Motoki for turning the flavors they envisioned into products.

The school project was organized by Hideki Fukuda, a 36-year-old teacher at the school, which has about 620 students. “The children are thinking more about local production and consumption,” he said. “I think they also got a sense of how tough it is for professionals to commercialize a product.”

A single scoop of gelato at the shop, including the roasted sweet potato with caramel gelato, costs ¥350, including tax. A double costs ¥420, including tax.

The roasted sweet potato with caramel gelato is scheduled to be available through March.