Greece was the fourth European stop of the new Gelato Festival World Masters season, the travelling competition searching for the world’s best gelato flavours. The Athens challenge took place on 4 April 2024.

How the Athens round worked

The event was staged at the Athens headquarters of Carpigiani’s official distributor in Greece, where 12 gelato artisans competed for a place in the national finals in 2025. Gelato Festival organised the challenge together with that distributor and Sigep – Italian Exhibition Group.

Chefs made their gelato in a kitchen supplied by the organisers, and industry experts, local chefs and food journalists tasted and judged. The three top flavours advanced to the Greek Finals of Gelato Festival World Masters in 2025.

About the championship

The 2022-25 edition took Gelato Festival World Masters into its thirteenth year. It began in Florence in 2010 as the local “Gelato Festival”, inspired by the first gelato recipe, created by the architect Bernardo Buontalenti in 1559. It then grew across Italy, Europe and, from 2017, the United States, before becoming a world championship. The 2017-2021 edition involved more than 3,500 gelato makers and was won by Adam Fazekas of Budapest.

What this means for gelato makers in New Zealand

If you’d like to make gelato that could stand up in a contest, the right tools matter. Majors Group supplies Carpigiani gelato machines and can connect you with Carpigiani Gelato University in New Zealand.

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