Bulgaria was the fourth European stop of 2023 for the new Gelato Festival World Masters tour, the leading championship in search of the best gelato flavours in the world. On 22 March, at the Bulgaria Mall in Sofia, the Carpigiani Challenge brought together 12 Bulgarian gelato artisans, each competing with their best flavour for a place in the European final.

How the Carpigiani Challenge worked

The 2022-2025 championship is organised by Gelato Festival with Carpigiani Gelato University, the renowned school for gelato entrepreneurs, and Sigep (Italian Exhibition Group), the leading B2B show for artisan gelato, pastry, bakery and coffee. Competitors made their flavours in a laboratory provided by the organisers, and industry experts, local chefs and food journalists tasted and evaluated them. The three top flavours qualified for the European Final, scheduled for 2025 at Carpigiani’s headquarters in Bologna, Italy.

Thirteen years of Gelato Festival

The 2022-2025 edition is the thirteenth year of the event, which began in Florence in 2010 as a local competition inspired by Bernardo Buontalenti’s first gelato recipe in 1559. It grew across Italy and Europe, reached the United States in 2017 and became a global championship that involved more than 3,500 gelato makers in the 2017-2021 edition.

What this means for gelato makers in New Zealand

If you’d like to take your gelato further, Majors Group can help with Carpigiani gelato machines across New Zealand and Carpigiani Gelato University courses for recipe and business skills.

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