Milan, 13 March 2021 – The artisanal gelato season is just around the corner – on 24th March, we will be celebrating European Artisanal Gelato Day, which has just reached its ninth edition, and it’s packed with new features. Over the last year, the whole supply chain has proudly shown its willingness to bounce back, refusing to give in to the challenges of this difficult time. The sector’s immense creativity and initiative has helped find various alternative – yet equally effective – ways of promoting the art of gelato making around the world.
And so, as we look forward to celebrating Gelato Day with a cone or bowl of Mantecado – the Flavour of the Year chosen by Spain – gourmets from all over the world will be finding out more about the culinary delight that is gelato, which even has its very own European Union Day, and even paying a visit to the workshops of Europe's finest gelato makers. The new features at the 9th edition of Gelato Day will include an all-digital event at Sigep Exp, with the launch of a new YouTube channel and a contest that will put the expertise and creativity of gelato artisans from the Old Continent to the test.
SIGEP EXP. After the decision to postpone the physical edition of SIGEP – the Italian Exhibition Group’s International Hand-crafted Gelato, Pastry, Chocolate, Bakery and Coffee Fair – until next year (22-26 January 2022) we are delighted to announce the launch of Sigep EXP – The Digital Experience, a completely virtual revamped version of the foremost professional event for the confectionery world. From the 15th to the 17th of March, the community of professionals and businesses in the artisanal gelato, pastry, bakery and coffee sectors will come together in a packed schedule of meetings, talks, events and workshops. This digital version of the event could not fail to include Gelato Day, which will have its own dedicated page where visitors will be able to access a whole host of news stories about artisanal gelato and the 24th March. But that's not all: the schedule also includes a workshop that will guide professionals and enthusiasts through the making of Mantecado gelato, as part of SIGEP Lab, a veritable production centre of ideas and techniques, where professional training takes centre stage with courses, show cooking and demonstrations. The date for your diaries is Tuesday 16th March at 3 pm with CAST Alimenti lecturer Ciro Fraddanno, accompanied by Artglace President Marco Miquel Sirvent, Artglace Vice-President Domenico Belmonte, artisan Silvia Chirico of Tenuta Chirico, a well-known Ascea-based dairy that is now also an agri-grocery, as well as nutritional biologist Marianna Rizzo, an expert in food education and the Mediterranean diet, who will be exploring the nutritional aspects of Mantecado flavour and explaining how gelato can also play a role in healthy eating.
VIDEO CONTEST FOR EUROPEAN GELATO MAKERS. Also totally digital, the video contest held by Artglace will give European gelato makers a chance to earn themselves a slot at the 10th European Artisanal Gelato Day celebrations hosted by the European Parliament in 2022. Each gelato maker is required to make a short 90-second video showing how to make Mantecado, based on the official recipe. Videos can be submitted up to 30th June and will be rated by a jury of experts. They will be assessing the originality of the presentation, the quality of the video, the illustration of the Mantecado production process, the aesthetics and decoration of the tray (full rules and regulations at www.gelato-day.com). And that's not all: the competing videos will also be published on Gelato Day's social and other online channels, giving gourmets across the world the chance to step inside the workshops and discover all the work, skill and creativity that go into making a tub of artisanal gelato.
YOUTUBE CHANNEL. The new Gelato Day YouTube channel will be filled with videos entered into the contest, together with the official Gelato Day pages on Facebook and Instagram. Given that one of the most frequently asked questions, when talking about gelato, has always been “How can I make the perfect artisan gelato?”, the YouTube channel will reveal all, not only to professionals in the sector, but also – and above all – to amateur enthusiasts, who will be able to find out how gelato is made, how much work it takes, what skills are needed to make one of the world's favourite gastronomic products, how many spoonfuls of imagination and flair, as well as tradition have for decades been behind the craft of gelato making in Italy and around the world.
The calendar of digital events and meetings is just one part of the Gelato Day celebrations, however. Even though meeting in person is still not possible, everyone can still enjoy this gourmet day, through the flavours of a fine gelato, either at the local parlour or at home, via a delivery service.
All of the information you might need about the ninth edition of Gelato Day is available from the www.gelato-day.com website and on the official Gelato Day pages on Facebook (@24MarzoEuropeanGelatoDay) and Instagram (@Gelato_Day).
European Artisanal Gelato Day, the brainchild of Longarone Fiere and Artglace and the 2021 edition sees the arrival of a new partner in ACOMAG, the National Association of Machinery, Fixtures and Fittings Manufacturers for Gelato, the Italian Gelato Makers’ Association, CNA, the Committee of Campanian Gelato Makers, Confartigianato, Conpait Gelato – the Confederation of Italian Patissiers, the Italian Gelato Makers Federation, GA - the National Committee for the Defence and Dissemination of Craft and Own-brand Gelato, GAT - Artisanal gelato Makers of the Triveneto, Masters of Italian Gelato, Ilgelatoartigianale.info, and SIGEP - the Italian Exhibition Group’s International Hand-crafted Gelato, Pastry, Chocolate, Bakery and Coffee Fair.
Creators and partners have invited all Italian and European gelato parlours to take part in the 2021 edition of Gelato Day by signing up at www.gelato-day.com and posting all of the events planned for the most delicious day of the year.