After four years of auditions, more than 3,500 participants, and hundreds of events, the 34 best gelato artisans in the world will compete in Las Vegas at the Grand Finale of the Gelato Festival World Masters, the most important international competition for individual artisan gelato makers, with strategic partners Carpigiani and SIGEP WORLD – Italian Exhibition Group.

The Final, organized in collaboration with ICE – Italian Trade Agency, will take place from March 24 to 26 at the International Pizza Expo & Conference in Las Vegas, a global reference event for innovation and networking in the pizza industry.

The event represents the culmination of a journey that began in 2022 and has involved more than 3,500 gelato makers through hundreds of selection events across four continents.

Here is the complete list of finalists and the flavors they will be presenting in the competition (in alphabetical order):

ARGENTINA

• Emanuel Ratari of Heladeria Lilo’s in Pergamino with the flavor “Café Blanco con Mandarinas”

BELGIUM

• Fabio Marasti of La Gourmand'Ice in Verviers with the flavor "Nessun Dorma"
• Christian Wu of Gelateria Giotto in Ixelles with the flavor "Il Bosco dei Cento Acri"

BRAZIL

• Guilherme Geraldini Pereira of Biju Mani in São Francisco (SP) with the flavor “Appia”
• Aline Vieira of Flor do Ingá in Maringá (PR) with the flavor "Doce Encontro"

CHINA

• Jiang Jie of Peiking Gelato in Beijing with the flavor “Citrus and Sage Reverie”

CHINESE TAIPEI

• Wei-Chun Hung of The Happiness Shop in Changhua with the flavor “Formosa Mont Blanc Gelato”

CZECH REPUBLIC

• Jakub Gavor of Ještě jednu in Brno with the flavor “Bacio Cake”
• Lukáš Pohnán of Zmrzlina Senomaty in Senomaty with the flavor “Tarte Tatin”

GERMANY

• Rino Bernardi of Gran Café by Rino in Ochsenhausen with the flavor “Red King”
• Thomas Micolino of Eiscafé by Rino in Rottenburg am Neckar with the flavor “Kamelatte”
• Enrico Piccin of Artigiani Eisdiele in Berlin with the flavor “Mediterraneo”

GREECE

• Dimitrios Charalampous of Gelato Palladio in Rhodes with the flavor “Yoghurt Orange”
• Charalampos Marantidis of Marantidis in Kavala with the flavor “Exotic Greek Cheese”   

HUNGARY

• Janos Somodi of Florida Fagyizó in Balatonmáriafürdő with the flavor “Torta della nonna”
• Dávid Wilheim of DaCrema Fagyizó in Nagykanizsa with the flavor “Il re del Piemonte”

ITALY

• Danilo Cinelli of Delizie Bolognesi in Bologna with the flavor “Bora Bora”
• Salvatore Ravese of Garden Gelateria in Gioia Tauro (RC) with the flavor “Bacio dei due Mari”
• Elisabeth Stolz of Osteria Hubenbauer in Varna (BZ) with the flavor “I tesori delle nostre montagne”
• Guido Zandonà of Gelateria Ciokkolatte – Il Gelato Che Meriti in Padua with the flavor "Caramello salato al burro" 

KUWAIT

• Fatemah Ben Salamah of MAMA•C Cups&Cones in Jabriya with the flavor “Darabeel”
• Maryam Pirasteh of Ashburn in Kuwait City with the flavor “Passion Fruits”

MEXICO

• Juan Antonio Coyoli Maciel of Super Creamy in Mexico City with the flavor “Lisi”

NETHERLANDS

• Kees Baars of IJssalon IJsie Prima in Callantsoog with the flavor “Seaside Delight”
• Stefan Beerens of Kennis van IJs in Duizel with the flavor “Imagi”

NORWAY

• Giovannino Fittipaldi of Gelatiamo in Hamar with the flavor “S´Aranzata”

POLAND

• Wioletta Gbiorczyk of Lodziarnia Mleczna in Radom with the flavor “Biscotto alla mandorla”
• Tomasz Szypula of Lody Szypula 1974 in Racibórz with the flavor “HYĆKA - Fiori e frutti di sambuco”

SPAIN

• Carlo Guerriero of La Cremeria Gelato Italiano in Cadiz with the flavor “Sherrymisu³”
• Alfredo José Marrero Páez of Menester in Puerto de la Cruz with the flavor “Origén cacao”
• Bernardo Vicente Schenoni Siberta of Deleite Heladería Artesanal in Madrid with the flavor "Capricho Persa"

SWITZERLAND

• Massimiliano Lanzafame of Maxsimo-Gelateria Naturale in Düdingen with the flavor “Dedicato a te”

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

• Maria Liliana Biondo of uGOgelato in Cincinnati (OH) with the flavor “MandorLAND”
• Francia Magsaysay of Francy’s Artisanal Ice Cream in Bergenfield (NJ) with the flavor “Passion Fruit, Yuzu and White Chocolate”

The Gelato Festival World Masters Grand Finale is organized by Gelato Festival in collaboration with ICE – Italian Trade Agency, with strategic partners Carpigiani, SIGEP WORLD – Italian Exhibition Group, and Gelato World Tour. The official host of the Final is International Pizza Expo & Conference. The event’s brand sponsor is ISA, and its technical sponsors are Chefs’ Warehouse and Rosito Bisani. The event’s sponsor is Bristot.

With the 2022–26 edition, the Gelato Festival World Masters marks its seventeenth year of activity, having debuted in Florence in 2010, inspired by the creation of the first gelato recipe by architect Bernardo Buontalenti in 1559. Since then, the event has expanded its reach, first to the rest of Italy, then to Europe, and—since 2017—to the United States, before embracing the entire globe with the Gelato Festival World Masters world championship, which, in its 2017–2021 edition, involved over 3,500 gelato makers.