The Gelato Festival Challenge stopped in Warsaw on 20 November 2019 at Retail Show 2019, where 20 Polish gelato artisans took part. The event was hosted by Carpigiani’s distributor for Poland.

The winning flavours

• “Roasted sunflower seed with caramel” by Karolina Tronowska and Damian Gutowski of Piekarnia Cukiernia Grzybki in Warsaw: gelato with homemade caramel and pan-roasted sunflower seeds, with a layer of crunchy seeds.
• “Caramel Crunch” by Kinga Godyń of Góralskie Praliny in Kraków: Fiordilatte with velvety mascarpone, crunchy cookies and homemade caramel.
• “Forest Crème Brule” by Gino Maes and Slava Khimich of Manufaktura Lodow Prawdziwych in Kaczory: a crème brûlée gelato with porcini mushrooms.

Judging and next steps

The winners advance to the Polish Finals of Gelato Festival, scheduled for 2021, which will pick Poland’s entrant for the World Final. Entries are scored on flavour, structure, creativity and presentation, covering ingredient choice, craft in the recipe and visual impact. The jury was Monika Soszyńska-Masny (journalist, Przegląd Piekarski i Cukierniczy), Jacek Zięba (founder of “Akademia Mistrza”), Piotr Krasón (Expo Sweet manager) and Łukasz Smoliński (founder of DESEO Patisserie).

Gelato Festival began in Florence in 2010, inspired by the first gelato recipe from architect Bernardo Buontalenti in 1559. It has run for ten consecutive years, expanding across Italy and Europe and, since 2017, the United States, on the road to the Gelato Festival World Masters 2021.

What this means for gelato makers in New Zealand

Competition winners use inventive recipes and quality ingredients, and the same approach works for any gelato shop. Majors Group supplies Carpigiani batch freezers and Rubicone ingredients, and Carpigiani Gelato University courses can sharpen your recipe development.

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