Gelato Festival World Masters, the international competition that has been touring the world since 2017 in search of the best flavors of gelato, is headed towards the long-awaited World Finals. The UK Finals will be held on July 6 in Italy at the Gelato Museum, the first museum in the world dedicated to the social and technological history of artisanal gelato, a jury of selected experts deciding who among the 6 gelato artisans in the competition will earn the two positions in the world finals. The event will take place in a hybrid mode mixing digital streaming and jury assessment with in-person tasting to ensure maximum safety.

The event, which despite the pause due to the pandemic has succeeded in making the flavors of over 2500 gelato artisans known to the public, is organized in collaboration with Carpigiani Gelato University, the international gelato school with 20 campuses in 19 countries worldwide, and Sigep, the most important professional trade show in the world dedicated to artisanal gelato, organized by the Italian Exhibition Group.

Here is the list of the 6 best gelato artisans in the United Kingdom whose flavors will compete on July 6 at the Gelato Museum for the two spots at the world finals:

1. Taseer of Fabulous Ice Fires in London, with the flavor Wild Cherry;
2. Roberto Culivicchi of Roberto Authentic Italian Gelato in York, with the flavor Lemon and Basil;
3. Darren Swales of Baci & Co in Louth, Lincolnshire, with the flavor Fresh Lemon & Garden Mint with a Lime Drizzle;
4. Fabiano Franzoso of Cremoloso Gelato in London, with the flavor Amaretto Salato.
5. Akash Vaghela of Crème Glacée gelato shop in London with the flavor “Limbu Sorbetta”;
6. Somers Giacopazzi of Giacopazzi’s gelato shop in Eyemouth with the flavour “Christmas Pudding”         

The innovative “hybrid" organization will make it possible to conduct the event safely:

• The gelato artisans will send the mixes and ingredients for the decoration and variegation of the flavor in special refrigerated shipments.
• The instructors of Carpigiani Gelato University will make the gelato under the supervision of the competitors, who will have a live video connection with the production area.
• A jury of professionals from the Gelato World Cup Committee will evaluate the flavor during a real-time conference with the gelato artisan.
• Broadcasting from their own gelato shops, the artisans will offer a detailed description of their flavors, recounting the origins of their ideas, how the ingredients were selected, and why they wanted to submit it to the competition.

On July 6th at 3pm the work of the judges will be streamed on the Gelato Festival World Masters Facebook page and on the Carpigiani Gelato University YouTube channel.

With regard to Italy, the second semi-final with 76 gelato artisans will take place in September 2021. The Italian Finals with sixteen participants is scheduled for October 2021. The World Finals will be held in December 2021. Media partners of the European Finals: Punto IT, Food Professional Network, Gelato Artigianale, Tutto Gelato, Arte Heladero, Przegląd Piekarski i Cukierniczy, Uniteis News.

The 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 64 Festivals held, before embracing the entire planet with the world championship of Gelato Festival World Masters 2021.