Hunter King became a gelato aficionado by eating “copious amounts” of the treat while on set for Hallmark’s Two Scoops of Italy.
“Honestly, I do think I had gelato after work [a ton],” King, 30, exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, June 20, promoting the movie, which premieres on Saturday, June 22. “During the week, probably four or five nights out of the week I would get gelato.”
The actress noted that her gelato consumption went far beyond her late-night splurge. Since King plays an American chef named Danielle, who travels to Italy for menu inspiration, she got paid to make gelato and eat it while shooting.
“There were multiple days where we were eating gelato or trying new flavors or making gelato,” she said of the filming schedule, noting she really doesn’t know how much she ate during the three-week shoot.
“Just an absurd amount,” King joked. “I don’t even wanna know if you add it all up into, like, a big pint or, like a gallon. It’s probably best I don’t know.”
During the film, King’s character helps an Italian native named Giancarlo (Michele Rosiello) perfect new gelato flavors at his family’s small café while falling in love with the country and Giancarlo. Luckily for the star, she got hands-on experience mixing flavors and taste testing on the regular.
“One of the flavors that we learned was just, like, the classic,” King recalled. “I don’t know if it has a name — the plain gelato was like plain frozen yogurt. Although, people, I feel like I would get very in trouble for comparing the two just flavor wise.”
Once King mastered the classic gelato base, she started to dabble with different ingredients, which made the dessert “beautiful and magical and incredible.”
She told Us her “favorite” to make was “probably one of the fruity ones,” noting that there was a strawberry and a dragon fruit one in the movie.
“I never got to make Nutella flavored gelato, but I ate a crap ton of that. Like so much that I think was my favorite to eat,” King said. She added that the simple lemon flavor was equally as “incredible,” admitting, “I love it all. That’s a problem.”
Although King struggled to stop eating gelato, she told Us that the “best part” of shooting in Europe was immersing herself in the “culture” and trying different food. “The food, oh my gosh, the food is so good,” she laughed. “The food is so good that every single night after almost every single night after filming, I would put my stuff down and then go and get gelato immediately.”
King noted that the “wine there is incredible,” as well. “The food, the wine, the culture, and it’s just so beautiful,” she gushed. “I stayed in a wonderful neighborhood and just exploring all the little cobblestone streets and restaurants and shops. It was incredible.”
While King did get to enjoy Italy and all it had to offer, she was there to work on the Hallmark Channel film. The scenery and the food aspect, however, were part of what drew King to the role of Danielle. “What’s not to love reading the script? I heard Italy [and] I was like, ‘I’m in. I’m totally in,’” she recalled.
King said that she’s been “honing my cooking skills lately,” which made Danielle’s profession a bonus to sign onto the project. “I was very excited to try to dabble in the role of a chef and kind of see what that felt like — and [to] look like I actually know what I’m doing when I use a knife. So that was fun,” she explained.
When it comes to what she loved most about her character — who is on a mission of self-discovery — King identified with her adventurous side. “I don’t have the confidence that she does in the kitchen, that’s for sure,” she teased, sharing, “I think her love for travel is something that I have for sure. Anytime that I get a chance to travel, I will.”
King revealed that there were many things about Danielle that she wants to bring into her own life. “I would like to take a page out of her book how about spicy she is,” she said. “The beginning when her and Giancarlo meet. There’s a little bit of spiciness between the two of them. And I’m like, ‘I like that.’ I wanna be more feisty.”
Two Scoops of Italy premieres on Hallmark Channel Saturday, June 22, at 8 p.m. ET.
