Gelato Festival America, now in its third year, held its first Chicago edition in partnership with Chicago’s Little Italy Festa on Taylor Street, wrapping up on 19 August 2019. The best-flavour title went to Pistachio Sicilia by Angelo Lollino of Massa Cafe Italiano & Vero Gelato in Elmwood Park, Illinois.

The podium

• 1st place, Pistachio Sicilia: Bronte DOP pistachios with a light Sicilian lemon essence, topped with candied orange and lemon peel. It was a hit with both the Public Jury of ticket-holding guests and the Technical Jury of 12 professional judges, and Angelo received a medal made by Florentine goldsmith Paolo Penko. Other local competitors included Kyleen Atonson of Acadia and Michael E. Meranda of Gelato d’Oro.
• 2nd place, Fragola e Menta Sorbetto: a simple sorbetto of fresh fruit and fresh mint that recalls warm evenings on Taylor Street, by Michael E. Meranda of Gelato d’Oro in Chicago.
• 3rd place, Little Red: a cheesecake gelato marbled with red velvet cake and a honey graham cracker crust, drizzled with white chocolate and tied up with a strawberry ribbon, by Savannah G. Lee of Savannah’s Gelato Kitchen in San Francisco.

The festival was held with Carpigiani Frozen Dessert University and Sigep – Italian Exhibition Group as strategic partners, Air Italy as Global Partner and ISA as Technical Sponsor. The winner moves on to the Gelato Festival American Final in 2020. Competitors made and served more than two tons of gelato for thousands of guests on West Taylor Street over the weekend.

Special mentions and side contests

• Technical Jury: Chocolate Peanut Butter Puppy Chow, a peanut butter and chocolate recipe garnished with Chex mix, by Jessica La Forge of God Save The Cream in Boston. This prize reflects only the professional panel’s view, judging presentation, flavour, structure, creativity and articulation.
• Popular Jury: Lemon Freckled Carrot Bread by Kathy Turek of The Knotted Cone Gelato Co in Appleton, Wisconsin, made from her mother’s carrot bread recipe with cinnamon and walnuts blended into a Wisconsin milk base with fresh grated carrot, freckled with lemon peel and topped with graham crumbles. It was the favourite of general admission guests.
• Gela-to-go Award: Michael E. Meranda, for selling the most take-home pints.
• Kids Jury: Little Red, scored by little jurors both pre-selected and among the festival’s young guests.
• Speed Cup Race by ISA: Savannah G. Lee served the most perfect cups in 30 seconds, nine in total, ahead of Antonio Giannola in second and Stephano Franceschi in third.
• Stack It High: Kathy Turek stacked a record 25 scoops in a single cup in 30 seconds, beating the previous record of 23 shared with American Champion Mike Guerriero.

The weekend capped a successful first Chicago festival, with demonstrations, contests, ceremonies and plenty of tasting. The 2019 tour continued to Washington, D.C. on 7 and 8 September and Los Angeles on 28 and 29 September.

What this means for gelato makers in New Zealand

Pistachio remains a gelato classic, and Angelo’s win is a reminder that quality ingredients make the flavour. Rubicone ingredients are a good place to start for pistachio and other signature gelato bases, and our ISA gelato cabinets show the finished product at its best. Majors Group can also point you to training at Carpigiani Gelato University.

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