Gelato Festival World Masters is the international competition that has been touring the continent since 2017 on the lookout for flavours and trends in the craft gelato sector.
A global tournament run by partner organizations Carpigiani Gelato University (the international gelato training institution with 20 campuses in 19 countries around the world) and SIGEP - Italian Exhibition Group. The tournament is a riot of flavours, with competitions on all five continents and citizens’ juries to choose the 36 finalists, who run against each other every 4 years in a bid to be awarded the prestigious title of world champion.
As well as being a festival of quality, it is also an ambitious strategic positioning project for craft gelato and the entire supply chain, aiming to bring together 5,000 gelato-makers from across the globe.
Here is the timetable for the next stages of this great competition, all of which will be taking place in Europe:
- 29 June: final dedicated to SPAIN with 9 gelato parlours competing for the honour of reaching the World Final where 2 of the day’s flavours will qualify;
- 6 July: UK final with 6 gelato parlours competing for 2 places in the world final;
- 6 July: AUSTRIA final with 6 gelato parlours competing for 1 place in the world final;
- 8 July: POLAND final with 8 gelato parlours competing for 1 place in the world final;
- 13 and 14 July: REST OF EUROPE AND MEDITERRANEAN AREA final with 30 gelaterias from Germany (3 representatives), Belgium (5), Bulgaria (1), Croatia (2), Greece (2), Israel (1), Morocco (1), Norway (1), Holland (6), Portugal (1), Czech Republic (2), Sweden (2), Hungary (3). From this stage, 3 will get through to the World Final.
All 5 stages will be held in Italy, at the Gelato Museum in Anzola Emilia (Bologna province), the world’s first museum on the social and technological history of artisan gelato. The competitions will be held in "hybrid" mode, to ensure that they can be completed in full safety:
- the gelato-makers will be sending their blends and the ingredients for decorating and creating ripples in their flavours via special refrigerated shipments;
- teaching staff at Carpigiani Gelato University will put the finishing touches to the gelato under the supervision of the competitors who will be connected in streaming mode with the production workshop;
- a jury of professionals from the Gelato World Cup Committee will assess each flavour during a real-time connection with its maker;
- from the comfort of their parlour, each gelato-maker will describe their creation in detail, how the idea was born, how they selected the ingredients and why they had signed the flavour up for the competition.
The competition will also be broadcast, in video format, on the Europa Gelato Festival Facebook page and on the Gelato Festival Youtube channel.
Italy will be holding its second semifinal in September 2021 with 76 gelato-makers, while the Italian final with the top 16 candidates is scheduled for October 2021.
And finally, the grand World Final will be held in December 2021. Media partners for the European Finals: Punto IT, Food Professional Network, Gelato Artigianale, Tutto Gelato, Arte Heladero, Przegląd Piekarski i Cukierniczy.
A competition designed to encourage professionals in the sector and others, such as gourmets and food lovers, to discover a series of innovative flavours and new combinations.