Bologna/Los Angeles, 17 November 2021 – Here are the 32 best gelato artisans in the world. They come from 18 countries, selected over 4 years of events with about 3500 participants. The awaited world final of Gelato Festival World Masters, the main category tournament with partners Carpigiani and Sigep - Italian Exhibition Group, will be held on 1 and 2 December at the Gelato Museum in Bologna, Italy. The event will be anticipated on November 29 by the preview dedicated to gelato flavors made in USA flavors that will take place in Los Angeles at the Gelato Festival’s headquarters, on that occasion the promotional videos of the competing flavors will also be unveiled and evaluated by a jury of influencers.

Due to the travel restrictions, the arrival in Italy of all the participants could not be guaranteed and the Organizing Committee devised a "hybrid" way of carrying out the event by creating an organizational team capable of adapting to the different time zones. The Gelato Artisans come from the following 18 countries: Australia (1 participant); Austria (1 participant); Saudi Arabia (1 participant); Belgium (1 participant); Brazil (1 participant); Chile (1 participant); Germany (2 participants); Japan (3 participants); Italy (5 participants); Netherlands (1 participant); Poland (1 participant); United Kingdom (2 participants); Czech Republic (1 participant); Spain (2 participants); United States (3 representatives); South Africa (4 participants); Thailand (1 participant); Hungary (1 participant). Among them, 9 are women.

The "hybrid" World Final conceived by the Organizing Committee will take place as follows:

- the gelato artisans will send the recipes and any characterizing or difficult-to-find ingredients;

- the Instructors of Carpigiani Gelato University will take care of batch freezing the gelato under the supervision of the competitors who will be connected in livestreaming mode with the production laboratory. To compensate for time zone differences, the work shifts were organized in such a way as to meet the needs of each competitor;

- a technical jury of international professionals from the world of gelato, frozen desserts, pastry and food service and jury composed by representatives of media and press will proceed with the evaluation during a real-time connection with the gelato artisans on 1 and 2 December. Also in this case, the diverse time zone differences have been taken into account;

- the gelato artisans, connected virtually from their shops or laboratory, will describe their gelato creation in detail, explaining how the idea was born, how the selected ingredients were chosen and why they wanted to participate in the competition.

The evaluation phases of the technical jury will be live streamed from 11 am CET on 1 December to 6 pm CET on 2 December on the Gelato Festival World Masters Facebook page and on the Carpigiani Gelato University YouTube channel. The award ceremony is scheduled for 2 December at 10.30 pm CET on the same social media outlets. The Gelato World Cup is partner of the Technical Jury.

Event Sponsors: Fabbri 1905 and Fabbri USA; ISA, a manufacturer of showcases and displays for gelato and pastry shops; Caffè Vergnano 1882; Rancilio, a manufacturer of professional coffee machines; ENIT. Media partners of Gelato Festival World Masters: 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 ideation of the first gelato recipe by the multifaceted architect Bernardo Buontalenti in 1559. Since then, the event has expanded its borders, expanding first to the rest of Italy, then to Europe and - since 2017 - also in the United States, with hundreds of events held, before embracing the whole planet with the World Championship of Gelato Festival World Masters 2021.

LIST OF WORLD FINALISTS

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (3)

Savannah Lee of Savannah's Kitchen Gelateria in San Francisco with the flavor "The All American"

Mike Guerriero of Gelotti Essex in Caldwell (New Jersey) with the flavor "Blueberry Basil"

Diego Comparin of Paciugo Gelato in Dallas (Texas) with the flavor "Texas Pecan Sea Salt Caramel"

SOUTH AFRICA (4)

Michael Dube of Aroma Gelato in Pretoria with the flavor "Apple Pie Gelato"

Sandro Tomassetti of the Gelateria La Cremosa in Johannesburg with the flavor "Ricotta e Pere"

Karin Loots of The Ice Creamery in Pretoria with the flavor "Gin & Marmalade"

Fahmida Moolla of Gelato Studio in Johannesburg with the flavor "Macadamia Praline"

ITALY (5)

Fabio Forghieri of the Gelateria dei Principi in Correggio (RE) with the flavor "Oceano Indiano"

Elisabeth Stolz of the Hubenbauer Osteria in Varna (BZ) with the flavor "Gioia Verde"

Marco Venturino of the Gelateria I Giardini di Marzo in Varazze (SV) with the flavor "Bocca di Rosa"

Francesco Sottilaro of the Bar Boccaccio Gelateria in Villa San Giovanni (RC) with the flavor "Fata Morgana"

Massimiliano Scotti of the Gelateria VeroLatte in Vigevano (PV) with the flavor “Il mio primo vero latte”

AUSTRALIA (1)

John Crowl of Cow and the Moon Gelateria in Sydney with the flavor "Pannacotta, poached strawberries and balsamic vinegar"

AUSTRIA (1)

Katarina Rankovic of Eismanufaktur Kolibri Gelateria in Wolfurt with the flavor "Insieme"

BRAZIL (1)

Armando Laiun of the Sorveteria Cairu Gelateria in Belém with the flavor "Carimbó"

GERMANY (2)

Giuseppe Cimino of the Eis Rimini Gelateria in Rastatt Plittersdorf (BW) with the flavor "Physalis-Avocado Sorbetto"

Claudia Trotta of the Eiscafé Venezia Gelateria in Wernigerode with the flavor "Edelweiss Ziegenjoghurt"

JAPAN (3)

Keisuke Katayama of Arima Gelateria Stagione in Kobe (Hyogo prefecture) with the flavor "Salted mascarpone and amazake with hint of Kumquat"

Aiko Matsumoto of Gelateria Santi in Kamakura (Kanagawa prefecture) with the flavor "Rosemary honey with candied nuts"

Hidenobu Yamamoto of Gelato Daigozakura in Okayama with the flavor "Japanese forest-scented fiordilatte (with kuromoji)"

SAUDI ARABIA (1)

Mohamad Majd Tabbakh of Yamama Gelato in Riyadh with the flavor "Cardamon & Saffron"

HUNGARY (1)

Ádám Fazekas of the Fazekas Cukrászda ice cream shop in Budapest with the flavor "Pistachio Fruit"

POLAND (1)

Tomasz Szypula of the Lodziarna pod Ortechem Gelateria in Baborów with the flavor "Cud miod orzeski"

UNITED KINGDOM (2)

Fabiano Franzoso of Cremoloso Gelato in London with the flavor “Amaretto salato"

Taseer of the Faboulous Ice Fires Gelateria in London with the flavor "Wild Cherry"

THAILAND (1)

Marina Jonglertjesdawong of TIFTEC - Culinary School with the flavor "Happy Childhood Memories (from root to table)”

BELGIUM (1)

Mathieu Eyckmans of the Oyya Gelateria in Bruges with the flavor "Gorgonzola Fig Gelato"

CZECH REPUBLIC (1)

Martina Březinová of the NamNam Cafè Gelateria in Velká Dobrá with the flavor "Summer Pear"

NETHERLANDS (1)

Marten Riedstra of the Ijssalon Iiskâld Gelateria in Lemmer with the flavor "Sweet & Happiness"

CHILE (1)

Juan José Orueta of the La Obra Gelateria in Curicó with the flavor "Fruición"

SPAIN (2)

Carlo Guerriero of La Cremeria Gelato Italiano in Cádiz with the flavor "Cremoso al Vino Oloroso²"

Fernando Alberdi of the Dona Doni Gelateria in Getaria with the flavor "Mango Ezpeleta"