Gelato Festival World Masters, the main category tournament with partners Carpigiani and Sigep - Italian Exhibition Group, has found its first UK Finalist! On November 7th, at the Park Royal Development Kitchen in London, 9 gelato makers from England took part in the sweetest competition of the year organized by Carpigiani UK. 

The winner of the competition was:

•    Jon Adams of Gelato Gusto in Chichester with the flavour “Liquorice & salted caramel”
Description: a plant-based caramel gelato with a hint of salty liquorice

The West Sussex gelato maker will advance to the European Finals scheduled for 2025. 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 (full list of participants at the bottom). 

Given the high quality of the flavours in the competition, the jury decided to award a special mention to:

•    Lewis Ratto of Alfonso Gelateria in Woodstock with the flavour “Caffelatte Mascarpone” 
Description: mascarpone caffelatte gelato, mocha ripple and hazelnut crumble

The jury was composed of: 
•    Michele Stanco - Executive Chef de Cuisine at The Albany
•    Claire Clark - Pastry Chef & Claire Clark Academy Founder
•    Graham Hornigold - Pastry Chef & Director at Longboys
•    Bruno Forte - CEO at Swoon Gelato
•    Josh Walton - Editor at Foodservice Equipment Journal

Gelato Festival debuted in Florence in 2010, inspired by the creation of the first gelato recipe by the versatile architect Bernardo Buontalenti in 1559. Since then, the event has expanded its borders, first to the rest of Italy, then to Europe and – starting in 2017 – the United States, with a total of 80 Festivals held, before embracing the entire planet with the world championship of Gelato Festival World Masters, which concluded in December 2021 - with the victory of Adam Fazekas from Budapest - and saw a record of 3,500 gelato artisans judged by international juries. 

GELATO FESTIVAL WORLD MASTERS 
UK Challenge 
November 7, 2024
Park Royal, London
Carpigiani UK

WINNER

•    Jon Adams of Gelato Gusto in Chichester with the flavour “Liquorice & salted caramel”

Other participants: 

• Fabiano Franzoso of Cremoloso Gelato in London with the flavour “Midnight Smoke”
• Biagio Di Fiore of Wave Gelato in London with the flavour “Indigenous Tonka” 
• Tamas Kiss of Ildiko’s Chocolate in Leatherhead with the flavour “Un abbraccio dall’Italia (A hug from Italy)”
• Philip Harrison of Bears Ice Cream Imaginarium in Whitstable with the flavour “Miso-banana-butterscotch pudding”
• Diego Alfonso Celis of Bertotti Gelato in London with the flavour “Pickled Plum Citrus”
• Lewis Ratto of Alfonso Gelateria in Woodstock with the flavour “Caffelatte Mascarpone”
• Avraham Cohen of Booya in London with the flavour “Booya Balagan”
• Donna Silva of Mestizos Artisanal Gelato in London with the flavour “Mestizos Ube Cheesecake”