After a 12-hour livestream featuring 32 gelato chefs from 18 countries, the Gelato Festival World Masters final has a winner. The world’s best gelato flavour is Hungarian: “Frutta di Pistacchio” by Ádám Fazekas of Fazekas Cukrászda in Budapest, a creamy salted pistachio gelato with a Tonka bean spiced raspberry coulis and a pistachio crumble. The tournament runs with Carpigiani and Sigep – Italian Exhibition Group as partners.

The winner’s journey

Fazekas impressed the jury with his technical skill, the quality and pairing of his ingredients and his presentation of taste. His path began in 2018 with a selection in Hungary. In 2019 he won the “Gelato Festival Next Generation” competition in Rome, which brought together the 16 best European gelato artisans under 30, and he took the European Final the following July. He said he comes from a small country with big dreams, professional humility and an unstoppable hunger for knowledge, and that the flavour was inspired by one of his shop’s best-selling desserts.

The podium

• First place: Ádám Fazekas (Hungary), “Frutta di Pistacchio”.
• Second place: Carlo Guerriero of La Cremeria Gelato Italiano in Cádiz, Spain, with “Cremoso al Vino Oloroso²”, a zabaglione gelato flavoured with Palo Cortado sherry, with raisins soaked in the same wine and crunchy almonds.

• Third place: Marco Venturino of I Giardini di Marzo in Varazze (SV), Italy, with “Bocca di Rosa”, a fragrant white chocolate gelato with rose water, inspired by the Ligurian rose syrup Slow Food Presidium.

Special mentions

The technical jury of 11 gelato makers, frozen dessert professionals, pastry chefs and chefs awarded these mentions, with no artisan receiving more than one prize:

• Best sorbet (water-based, no milk or dairy): Fernando Alberdi, Dona Doni Gelateria, Getaria, “Mango Ezpeleta”.
• Best flavour from Europe: Tomasz Szypula, Lodziarna pod Ortechem, Baborów, “Miracle Yogurt”.
• Best flavour from South America: Juan José Orueta, La Obra Gelateria, Curicó, “Fruición”.
• Best flavour from the Middle East and South Africa: Mohamad Majd Tabbakh, Yamama Gelato, Riyadh, “Cardamon & Saffron”.
• Asia and Australia: Hidenobu Yamamoto, Gelato Daigozakura, Okayama, “Japanese forest-scented fiordilatte (with kuromoji)”.

The international press jury added four more:

• Plating: Sandro Tomassetti, Gelateria La Cremosa, Johannesburg, “Ricotta cheese and Pears”.
• Storytelling: Fabiano Franzoso, Cremoloso Gelato, London, “Amaretto salato”.
• Pairing flavour and territory: Massimiliano Scotti, Gelateria VeroLatte, Vigevano, “Il mio primo vero latte”.
• Creativity: Elisabeth Stolz, Hubenbauer Osteria, Varna (BZ), “Gioia Verde”.

A jury of influencers at Gelato Festival’s headquarters in Los Angeles awarded Best Flavour from the USA to Diego Comparin of Paciugo Gelato in Dallas (Texas) with “Texas Pecan Sea Salt Caramel”, and Best Video to Taseer of Faboulous Ice Fires Gelateria in London with “Wild Cherry”.

The juries and sponsors

The technical jury included Giancarlo Timballo (president of the Gelato World Cup Organising Committee), Cinzia Otri (Gelateria della Passera, Florence), Antonio Mezzalira (Golosi di Natura), Paolo Lavezzini (Il Palagio restaurant, Four Seasons Hotel Florence), Peter Bertoti (Quattro Si, Warsaw), Arpad Szucs (CottoCrudo, Budapest), Helena Fléglova (HF Pastry Academy, Prague), Edouard Bechoux (Belgian pastry chef and master chocolatier), Steve Christensen (Scoop School, Missouri, USA) and Panjaree Boonchuay (Thai Firenze restaurant, Florence). The press jury included Luis Concepción (Arte Heladero), Yumi Hasegawa Picone, Carlo Gentile, Elena Postelnicu, Sabina Castelfranco (CBS News) and Monika Soszyńska-Masny (Przegląd Piekarski i Cukierniczy).

The Gelato World Cup partnered with the technical jury. Among the event sponsors was ISA, the maker of gelato and pastry display cabinets.

The 32 finalists by country

• USA: Savannah Lee (San Francisco), Mike Guerriero (Caldwell, NJ), Diego Comparin (Dallas)
• South Africa: Michael Dube (Pretoria), Sandro Tomassetti (Johannesburg), Karin Loots (Pretoria), Fahmida Moolla (Johannesburg)
• Italy: Fabio Forghieri (Correggio), Elisabeth Stolz (Varna), Marco Venturino (Varazze), Francesco Sottilaro (Villa San Giovanni), Massimiliano Scotti (Vigevano)
• Australia: John Crowl of Cow and the Moon Gelateria, Sydney, with “Pannacotta, poached strawberries and balsamic vinegar”
• Austria: Katarina Rankovic, Eismanufaktur Kolibri, Wolfurt
• Brazil: Armando Laiun, Sorveteria Cairu, Belém
• Germany: Giuseppe Cimino (Rastatt Plittersdorf), Claudia Trotta (Wernigerode)
• Japan: Keisuke Katayama (Kobe), Aiko Matsumoto (Kamakura), Hidenobu Yamamoto (Okayama)
• Saudi Arabia: Mohamad Majd Tabbakh (Riyadh)
• Hungary: Ádám Fazekas (Budapest)
• Poland: Tomasz Szypula (Baborów)
• United Kingdom: Fabiano Franzoso and Taseer (London)
• Thailand: Marina Jonglertjesdawong, TIFTEC Culinary School
• Belgium: Mathieu Eyckmans, Oyya Gelateria, Bruges, with “Gorgonzola Fig Gelato”
• Czech Republic: Martina Březinová, NamNam Cafè, Velká Dobrá
• Netherlands: Marten Riedstra, Ijssalon Iiskâld, Lemmer
• Chile: Juan José Orueta, La Obra Gelateria, Curicó
• Spain: Carlo Guerriero (Cádiz), Fernando Alberdi (Getaria)

Gelato Festival began in Florence in 2010, inspired by Bernardo Buontalenti’s first gelato recipe of 1559, and has held hundreds of events across Italy, Europe and the United States.

What this means for gelato makers in New Zealand

Pistachio is one of the world’s favourite gelato flavours, and this result shows what great ingredients and technique can do. Our Carpigiani gelato machines and Rubicone ingredients are a strong starting point, and you can show your creations off in ISA gelato display cabinets.

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