Johnny Di Francesco to open Zero Gradi gelateria and Essendon 400 Gradi pizzeria

Melbourne's pizza king, Johnny Di Francesco, is expanding his 400 Gradi brand and opening an Essendon pizzeria-gelateria, and a traditional gelato shop near his Brunswick East flagship.

The pizzaiolo behind 400 Gradi and Gradi at Crown won last year's World Pizza Championships in Parma, Italy with his signature margherita pizza.

Di Francesco says the combination of pizza and gelato was too "amazing" to ignore.

"When I was over in Naples I was going from pizzeria to pizzeria and every time I'd eat a pizza I'd look for gelato straight after – if I love it then I think other people would," he says.

400 Gradi Essendon will house a gelato counter with 12 flavours, while a standalone gelateria, Zero Gradi, will open a few doors down from the original 400 Gradi in Lygon Street.

Di Francesco wanted to bring classic Italian gelato to Australian soil after he discovered local gelaterias didn't offer gelato with "panna" (whipped cream).

"I want to show the Aussies that gelato with panna is so traditional. It's a crime not to have panna with your gelato."

400 Gradi Essendon and Zero Gradi will churn fresh gelato every day.

"Something I learnt in Italy is it's not about how long you keep it for, it's about how quickly you can sell it and then churn it out fresh the next day, because gelato obviously loses its flavours quickly, so that's something I want to be well known for – that you are having today's gelato not yesterday's," Di Francesco says.

And the secret behind Di Francesco's award-winning pizza? "Use the highest quality ingredients you can find, and pay a lot of attention [to] making your dough."

400 Gradi Essendon is scheduled to open in September at shop 1, 110 Keilor Road, Essendon.

A summer opening is planned for Zero Gradi gelateria at shop 1, 93-97 Lygon Street, East Brunswick.