Gelato Festival World Masters, the world championship backed by partners Carpigiani and Sigep (Italian Exhibition Group), has announced the three artisans who will represent the USA from Texas at the 2024 North American Semifinals.

The Houston round

The second American stop of 2024 was held in Houston on 11 April, at the premises of the local Carpigiani distributor. Twelve gelato and ice cream chefs entered. Judging covered flavour, structure, creativity and presentation, with attention to ingredient choice, the craft behind each recipe and visual impact.

The winners

• First place: Francia Magsaysay of Francy’s Artisanal Ice Cream, Bergenfield (NJ), with “Passion fruit, Yuzu and White Chocolate”. A passion fruit and yuzu gelato is swirled with white chocolate gelato variegated with passion fruit reduction.
• Second place: Maria Florencia Mansile of La Argentina Gelato & Coffee, Katy (TX), with “The Queen of Pies”. It is a lemon curd gelato with orange zest, variegated with tropical fruit Italian meringue and olive oil crumbs.
• Third place: Dora Posada of Casa Morgana Gelatos, San Antonio (TX), with “Morgana’s Goat Spell”. Goat cheese gelato infused with orange zest is topped with figs, toasted pecans and honey.

All three move on to the North American Semifinals of Gelato Festival World Masters, scheduled for 2024.

The jury

• Lucienne Duforets, gelato chef and owner of Bellefontaine Ice Creamery
• Diego Comparin, 2021 Gelato Festival World Masters finalist and 18th best gelato chef in the world on the Gelato Festival World Ranking
• Alessandra Salvatori, Italy-America Chamber of Commerce of Texas
• Mike Riccetti, author and food writer

The other participants

• Mary Stanley, The Turtle Gelateria, Brownwood (TX): “Southern Banana Pudding”
• Manuel Torterola, Gelato La Boca, Dallas (TX): “Umami PopCorn”
• Karyn Pumphrey, Gelato Queen, Monroe (GA): “Caramel Bourbon”
• Samir Martula, The Gelatist, Fulshear (TX): “Waferino di Nocciola e Rocher”
• Simon Stankevicius, Gelatissimo, Houston (TX): “Texas Sheet Cake Gelato”
• Costantine Koutas, Gelato Costantino, Houston (TX): “Bananas Costantino”
• Mohammad Alqawasmi, Bazaria, Plano (TX): “Virgin Mojito”
• Allan Velasque, Scoop of Blessing, Katy (TX): “Blessing from Texas”
• Pedro Quevada, Gelato Paradiso, Austin (TX): “Smores”

About Gelato Festival

Gelato Festival debuted in Florence in 2010, inspired by the first gelato recipe, created by the architect Bernardo Buontalenti in 1559. It spread across Italy, then Europe, and from 2017 the United States, holding 80 festivals in all. It then went global with the 2021 Gelato Festival World Masters, which finished in December 2021 with a win for Adam Fazekas of Budapest and saw a record 3,500 gelato artisans judged by international juries.

What this means for gelato makers in New Zealand

Standout gelato starts with solid equipment and skills. Majors Group offers Carpigiani gelato machines, Rubicone ingredients and Carpigiani Gelato University training for makers in New Zealand.

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