Gelato Festival Challenge Bulgaria 2019: Zaharieva Wins

The Gelato Festival Challenge returned to Sofia on 15 April 2019, where ten Bulgarian gelato artisans competed at the Bulgaria Mall. Tzvetina Zaharieva of Gelato Lab in Sofia won with “Salty Crunch Caramel”.

The winning flavour

The winning gelato was an intriguing salted caramel flavour with hazelnut and a chocolate coating. Zaharieva advances to International Day 2020, the European finals of the Gelato Festival World Masters, to be held in Italy at the Carpigiani Gelato University headquarters. Entries were judged on flavour, structure, creativity and presentation, covering ingredient choice, craftsmanship in the recipe and visual impact.

Next Generation prize

The jury also gave the Next Generation prize for the best young artisan, aged 30 or under, to Viara Baltiiska of Bakers bakery & gelato parlor in Plovdiv. Her “Pumpkin with mascarpone, nuts and honey” combined a delicate pumpkin gelato with mascarpone, topped with nuts and swirls of honey. She will compete in the Next Generation Finale in Rome on 13 and 14 April 2019, which selects the best artisan under 30 for the 2021 World Finale of the Gelato Festival World Masters.

Jury

• Chef Andrei Stoilov, head of the Bulgarian association of professional cooks
• Chef Elica Bojinova, member of the association and master chocolatier
• Chef Sandra Aleksieva, food blogger and founder of a culinary website
• Chef Ivan Manchev, chef at Cactus Restaurant and host of the TV show “Nightmares in the Kitchen”
• Chef Georgi Boikovski, catering and restaurant pastry chef working in progressive and molecular cuisine
• Rosica Ivanova, a gelato chef recently honoured as a “Cavaliere del gelato”

All ten entries

• Rumiana Doseva and Gergana Trileva, Baci Atelier del Gelato, Sofia: “White chocolate with raspberry and pistachio”
• Viara Baltiiska, Bakers bakery & gelato parlor, Plovdiv: “Pumpkin with mascarpone, nuts and honey”
• Mihail Klisurski and Yordanka Yordanova, Cloud gelato & chocolate parlor, Sofia: “Coffee with caramel chocolate”
• Gergana Zareva, Gerilato gelato parlor, Sofia: “B52”
• Stefan and Galina Cheresharski, Boutique chocolate gelato parlor, Sofia: “Yogurt with Ruby chocolate”
• Tzvetina Zaharieva, Gelato Lab, Sofia: “Salty crunch caramel”
• Daniela Dimirova, Gelateria Vivaldi, Plovdiv: “Carbonara”
• Mehmet Kurtogullari, Memo Sweet house gelato and pastry parlor, Plovdiv: “Pistachio”
• Maria Uvarova and Alex Uvarov, Yellow Cat Gelato parlor, Pomorie: “Crostata”
• Alex Dimitrov, Corte Diletto gelato factory, Sofia: “Black chocolate with smoked pepper and chili & lime jam”

Gelato Festival debuted in Florence in 2010, inspired by Bernardo Buontalenti’s first gelato recipe of 1559. It spread through Italy, then Europe and, since 2017, the United States, on the road to the Gelato Festival World Masters 2021.

What this means for gelato makers in New Zealand

Salted caramel, pumpkin and smoked pepper show how far a signature flavour can go. Browse Carpigiani gelato machines and Rubicone pastes and variegates through Majors Group to start building yours.

Source: Carpigiani news. Rewritten for New Zealand by Majors Group.