Calling all gelato fanatics! The Gelato Festival World Masters is coming to the GTA on March 1 starting at 8:30 a.m., gathering gelato makers to compete for international glory.
Nearly 20 gelato makers and masters will compete at the Gelato Festival World Masters on March 1 at Cool King Refrigeration in Mississauga, located at 921 Gana Court. The public is invited to watch and explore this healthy competition and festival, featuring some of Toronto's top gelato makers.
The Gelato Festival World Masters is an international traveling competition in search of the best gelato flavours in the world. At the March 1 event, the gelato makers will be competing for a spot in the North American Semi Finals later this year. Only the three top flavours of the day will move on to the semi finals.
The semi final winners will be invited to represent North America in a Worldwide Finale in Italy in 2025.
“We are thrilled to announce Canada will be one of Gelato Festival World Masters selections this year," says festival founder Gabriele Poli.
"The highly anticipated event is going to be hosted by Cool King Refrigeration where 18 gelato and ice cream makers will compete for a spot in the North American Semifinals in 2023 that will be organized in the heart of Hollywood, California. Congratulations to all the chefs who made it and may the best Gelato Chef win!”
Four gelato giants of Toronto proper are confirmed to compete as of this writing, including Parry Sohi of Nani's Gelato, Paolo di Lallo of Mizzica Gelateria, Gabriele di Marco of Oretta and Kaya Ogruce of Death in Venice, who won the Canadian arm of the competition in 2019.
Ogruce made a Cheeseboard Gelato for his 2019 win, and while the international competition was cancelled that year due to the pandemic, he is ready to compete again this year.
"This year my inspiration comes from experimenting with fermented foods, says Ogruce. "After a recent LSD trip, I visualized a gelato that has the sourness of sourdough bread but has the sweetness of butter. So, in my elevated state of consciousness, I've manifested bread and butter gelato."
Competitors from Etobicoke, North York, Burlington, Kingston and Newmarket are also confirmed.
Here's how the competition works! On competition day, the chefs prepare their gelato in the kitchens at the venue. Then, industry experts taste and judge the gelato by flavour, presentation, creativity and structure. So far, judges include travel blogger Annie Chu, nutritionist and foodie Jaclyn Irwin, and food and lifestyle expert Joel Solish.
And, when all is said and done, festival attendees get to sample the gelato!
Organized by Carpigiani North America in collaboration with Gelato Festival and Sigep – Italian Exhibition Group, the Gelato Festival debuted in Italy in 2010. The last winner of the international competition was gelato maker Adam Fazekas, from Budapest, in December 2021.
Stay tuned for details on the Cool King Refrigeration Ltd. website.
