The German Challenge of Gelato Festival World Masters was held at the 44th Sigep in Rimini on 21 January 2023. Fifteen gelato artisans from Germany competed, and the three best go on to the German finals scheduled for 2024.

The winners

• First place: Santo Palamara of Gelateria Zio Santo in Munich, with “Sfizio Calabro”: walnuts and bergamot with caramelised figs.
• Second place: Adriano Di Stasio of Gelateria La Dolce Vita in Abensberg, with “Sole Mio”: crème fraîche gelato variegated with a homemade quince, turmeric and lemon zest sauce, topped with a pistachio grain.
• Third place: Rino Bernardi of Gelateria By Rino in Ochsenhausen, with “Red King”: pomegranate sorbet combined with cream and honey gelato.

Entries were judged on flavour, structure, creativity and presentation. The jury was Gerhard Schenk (president of the German pastry chefs’ association), Ciro Chiummo (2020 Gelato World Cup champion) and Maximiliano Maccarrone (team manager of the third-placed team at the 2020 Gelato World Cup).

The other participants

• Marco Corrocher, Gelateria Morandin Gelato & Coffee, Lich: “Strana Combinazione” (Arabica coffee and banana)
• Domenico Caci, Eiscafé Il Pistacchio, Hohen Neuendorf: “Mandel Boom Boom” (bitter almond, cocoa, salted pistachio and black cherry)
• Alfiero Conte, Gelati Conte, Friedrichshafen: “Tropical Twist” (coconut with mango coulis)
• Daniel Pollazzon, Eis Pino, Gütersloh: “Crema del Pino” (pistachio cream sauce, caramelised waffles, orange peel and Cervia salt)
• Claudia Trotta, Eiscafé Venezia, Wernigerode: “Aladin” (milk gelato with oriental spices, tangerine and chocolate crumble)
• Massimo Caraccioli, Eiscafé Cuore di Panna, Ballenstedt: “Pankroka” (panna cotta, citrus, orange, almond brittle)
• Antonino Lacagnina, Café Italiano Sapori Veri, Kaiserslautern: “Streuselbar Eis” (milk and cookie with caramel and butter streusel)
• Antonio Tomasello, Gelateria Duo, Berlin: “Mandawasapies” (wasabi gelato with candied tangerine and roasted sweet peas)
• Renato Dal Cin, Eiscafe Dal Cin, Wedemark: “Kirmes-Eis” (almond with caramelised almonds)
• Antonio Muraglia, Bacio Eiscafé, Braunschweig: “Weißer Hanf” (white chocolate with hemp seeds blushed in cocoa butter)
• Danilo Sebastianelli, Eiscafè La Piazza, Aschheim: “Ricotta invernale” (gluten-free ricotta with chocolate cake and raisin citron)
• Daniel Ivandic, Eismanufaktur Kolibri, Flöha: “Spanish orange meets chocolate chilli” (orange sorbet with chilli and chocolate)

About the championship

Gelato Festival World Masters is run with Carpigiani and Sigep – Italian Exhibition Group as partners, and its 2022-2025 tour is searching for the world’s best gelato. The festival started in Florence in 2010, inspired by Bernardo Buontalenti’s first gelato recipe of 1559. It has since held 80 festivals. The 2021 world championship ended in December 2021 with a win for Adam Fazekas of Budapest, after a record 3,500 gelato artisans were judged.

What this means for gelato makers in New Zealand

From wasabi to quince and turmeric, these flavours show how bold a modern gelateria can be. To develop your own signature flavours, start with a dependable Carpigiani batch freezer, experiment with Rubicone pastes and variegates, and showcase the result in ISA gelato display cabinets.

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