Gelato Festival World Masters returned to Czech Republic for the third stop on its four-year competition calendar. Following last year's Challenge, the third national competition was held in Prague on December 3rd, with 18 Czech gelato makers participating. The event was organized with Eiskon, Carpigiani distributor for the Country, and hosted by Almeco.
The jury decreed a ranking of 3 gelato makers selected to participate in the 2025 Czech Finals of Gelato Festival World Masters, the world championship organized with Carpigiani and Sigep - Italian Exhibition Group as strategic partners. Flavor, structure, creativity, and verbal and aesthetic presentation were the four parameters by which the artisanal gelatos were evaluated, promoting the choice of ingredients, the artisans' mastery in elaborating and communicating the recipe, and the overall result evaluated through sight, taste, and smell (see the full list of participants on the last page).

The 3 winning gelato artisans are:  
1.    Vít Obrdlík of Snová zmrzlina in Jihlava with the flavor “Maková s povidly”;
Description: gelato with ground poppy seeds, plum jam, rhum and cinnamon
2.    Martin Strnad of Zigolo Gelato in Plzen with the flavor “"Pavlova" Ice cream”;
Description: Pavlova gelato (cream, egg, mascarpone and strawberries)
3.    Filip Knotek of Filipovo Gelato in Prague with the flavor “Almond Fusion”;
Description: almond gelato, with tonka bean and vanilla

The jury consisted of: Šárka Divácká, Head Pastry Chef & Co-founder of Sorry - We Bake Differently and Winner of the category Gourmet Pastry Brno 2023; Tomáš Popp, Chef, Manager of the national team of chefs and pastry chefs of the AKC ČR; Magdalena Murínová, Pastry chef & teacher at HF-pastry Academy and Member of the national team of chefs and pastry chefs, bronze medalist from European Grand Prix 2023.

With the 2022-25 edition Gelato Festival World Masters reaches its fifteenth year, having debuted in Florence in 2010 inspired by the conception of the first gelato recipe at the hands of the multifaceted architect Bernardo Buontalenti in 1559. Since then, the event has enlarged its boundaries by expanding first to the rest of Italy, then to Europe and - since 2017 - to the United States as well, before embracing the entire planet with the Gelato Festival World Masters world championship involving more than 3,500 gelato makers with the 2018-2021 edition.  

 
Gelato Festival World Masters
Czech Republic
December 3rd, 2024
Prague
Host: Eiskon

OTHER PARTICIPANTS

•    Dagmar Válová of Merhautovo pekařství in Benátky nad Jizerou with the flavor “Pumpkin”;
•    Jiří Suchan of Vanille in Prague with the flavor “Zakysaná smetana s javorovym sirupem a ořechy”;
•    Zdeněk Pavlis of Zmrzlina z Kunětic in Kunětice with the flavor “Pumpkin Seed Velvet”;
•    Filip Havlíček of Fammi Gelato in Příbram with the flavor “Oriental Essence”;
•    Jindřich Vojnar of ICEKRAM in Náchod with the flavor “Krtkův dor”;
•    Martin Bulva of Zmrzka z hor in Vrchlabi with the flavor “Creme Brulè”;
•    Václav Mencl of Zmrzlina Dolní Podluží in Dolní Podluží with the flavor “Mossy Dream”;
•    Dušan Breicha of Budějcký vejminek in Budějovice with the flavor “Citrus Love”;
•    Lukáš Taschner of PRAGELINA in Prague with the flavor “Luisa”;
•    Vladimír Nikodém of Flora Gelato in Františkovy Lázně with the flavor “Spiced Pear”;
•    Lukáš Schneider of U Zmrzlináře in Valtice with the flavor “Creamy Ruby chocolate with Raspberries”;
•    Jaroslav Šabat of Šabatovo zmrzlinářství in Týnec nad Sázavou with the flavor “Explosive Pistachio”;
•    Jan Moučka of Cukrárna u Moučků in Strančice with the flavor “Royal Chantilly alla prugna”;
•    Radek Pincel of Valgelato in Valtice with the flavor “Hezky česky”;
•    Eva Rezková of Adriagold in Nivnice with the flavor “Croissant Pistachio”.