The Gelato Festival World Masters, run with partners Carpigiani and Sigep – Italian Exhibition Group, held the first North American stop of 2025 in St. Louis on 11 February. Eight gelato chefs competed at an event hosted by a local Carpigiani distributor.

The Missouri winners

• First place: Tassia Vicentin Rezende of Tre Cuori Gelateria & Açaí, Ellisville (MO), with “Arachidi”, an all-natural peanut butter gelato with crunchy peanuts and dulce de leche, topped with Belgian chocolate.
• Second place: Karyn Pumphrey of Gelato Queen, Monroe (GA), with “Caramel Apple Bourbon”, a caramel bourbon gelato with apple pie and toasted pecan.
• Third place: Mohammad Alqawasmi of Bazaria, Plano (TX), with “Fig Krokan”, an almond gelato with caramelised figs and almonds.

All three move on to the North American Semifinals scheduled for 2025.

Judging and participants

Flavour, structure, creativity and presentation were the four criteria, covering ingredient choice, craftsmanship and visual impact. The jury was:

• Greg Jackson, foodservice consultant
• Steve Christensen, headmaster of Scoop School
• Bill Gomel, executive director of the Missouri Restaurant Association
• Chris Hanson, owner of The Bean Doctor

The other participants were:

• Michael Woolfolk, Mike Woolf Desserts, St. Louis (MO): “Pink Velvet”
• Jessica Wood, French Custard, Kansas City (MO): “Strawberry Stracciatella”
• Larry Fuse, Gelato di Riso, St. Louis (MO): “Mascarpone with Cherry”
• Angela Rose, Wally’s Pastry & Della Rose Gelato, Kansas City (MO): “White Chocolate Cherry Rose”
• Elijah Jabari, Spoonful of Sugar, St. Louis (MO): “Benton Park Butterfinger”

About the Gelato Festival World Masters

The championship began in Florence in 2010 and was inspired by the first documented gelato recipe, created by the architect Bernardo Buontalenti in 1559. It grew from a local contest into a tour across Italy, then Europe, and from 2017 into the United States. It went global with the Gelato Festival World Masters 2021 edition, which finished in December 2021 with a win for Adam Fazekas of Budapest and a record 3,500 gelato artisans judged by international juries.

What this means for gelato makers in New Zealand

Competitions like this show how far a well-balanced recipe, good technique and a confident story can take a gelato maker. If you are building your own flavour range, the right artisan gelato machines and a solid grounding from Carpigiani Gelato University are the place to start, and Majors Group can help with both in New Zealand. Our team can also talk you through Rubicone ingredients for your next signature flavour.

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