“Salty Crunch Caramel” by Tzvetina Zaharieva of Gelato Lab wins the Gelato Festival Challenge In Sofia

Gelato Festival Challenge continues its journey around the world returning in SOFIA on April 15th where 10 Bulgarian gelato artisans took part in the sweetest competition of the year hosted at the Bulgaria Mall by SBI BG EOOD, Carpigiani distributor for BULGARIA. The winning flavor is “Salty Crunch Caramel” by Tzvetina Zaharieva of Gelato Lab in Sofia, an intriguing salty caramel gelato with hazelnut and chocolate coating.
The selected gelato artisan goes on to the International Day 2020, the European Finals of Gelato Festival World Masters that will take place in Italy at the Carpigiani Gelato University headquarters. Flavor, structure, creativity and presentation are the four parameters used for the evaluation, highlighting the choice of ingredients, the craftsmanship in elaborating the recipe and the visual impact of the gelato (see below the full list of participants).

The jury also awarded the “Next Generation” prize to the best young gelato artisan (30 years old and below), which went to “Pumpkin with mascarpone, nuts and honey” by Viara Baltiiska of Bakers bakery & gelato parlor in Plovdiv, a delicate pumpkin gelato with Italian sweet cheese mascarpone, topped with nuts and swirls of honey.
The young artisan will participate in the Next Generation Finale to be held in Rome on April 13-14, 2019, where the best gelato artisan under 30 will be selected to take part in the 2021 World Finale of the Gelato Festival World Masters.

The jury was composed of:
-Chef Andrei Stoilov – chief of the Bulgarian association of professional cooks
-Chef Elica Bojinova – member of the  Bulgarian association of professional cooks – master chocolatier
-Chef Sandra Aleksieva – food blogger and founder of culinary website http://www.1001recepti.com/
-Chef Ivan Manchev – chef at Cactus Restaurant and host of TV show “Nightmares in the kitchen”
-Chef Georgi Boikovski – catering and restaurant-pastry chef, progressive and molecular kitchen
-Rosica Ivanova – gelato chef recently honored with the “Cavaliere del gelato” recognition

Having made its 2010 debut in Florence inspired by the first gelato recipe by the versatile architect Bernardo Buontalenti in 1559, Gelato Festival has continued to spread artisan gelato culture for nine consecutive years. From its inception, Gelato Festival has spread through Italy and next through Europe and, since 2017, in the United States. Gelato Festival will continue to promote gelato culture and appreciation throughout the globe with its road to the world championship of Gelato Festival World Masters 2021.

LIST OF PARTICIPATING FLAVORS:

1 - Rumiana Doseva and Gergana Trileva of Baci Atelier del gelato in Sofia with the flavor “White chocolate with raspberry and pistachio”
2 - Viara Baltiiska of Bakers bakery & gelato parlor in Plovdiv with the “Pumpkin with mascarpone, nuts and honey”
3 - Mihail Klisurski and Yordanka Yordanova of Cloud gelato & chocolate parlor in Sofia with the flavor “Coffee with caramel chocolate”
4 - Gergana Zareva of Gerilato gelato parlor in Sofia with the flavor “B52”
5 – Stefan and Galina Cheresharski of Boutique chocolate gelato parlor in Sofia with the flavor “Yogurt with Ruby chocolate”
6 – Tzvetina Zaharieva of Gelato Lab in Sofia with the flavor “Salty crunch caramel”
7 – Daniela Dimirova of Gelateria Vivaldi in Plovdiv with the flavor “Carbonara”
8 – Mehmet Kurtogullari of Memo Sweet house gelato and pastry parlor in Plovdid with the flavor “Pistachio”
9 – Maria Uvarova and Alex Uvarov of Yellow Cat Gelato parlor in Pomorie with the flavor “Crostata”
10 – Alex Dimitrov of Corte Diletto gelato factory in Sofia with the flavor “Black chocolate with smoked pepper and chili & lime jam”