Gelato Festival World Masters, the main category tournament with partners Carpigiani and Sigep—Italian Exhibition Group, is searching for the world’s best gelato. The fifth North American stop of 2024 was held at Baluna, a Carpigiani distributor, in Miami Lakes, Florida, on December 10, where 17 gelato chefs took part in the sweetest competition of the year. 

The winning chefs and the best gelato artisans in Florida for 2024 were:

First place: Carlotta Orrico of Delicious in Weston with their Delizioso flavor
Description: Lemon gelato with Grandma’s Cake and white chocolate 

Second place: Brenno Floriano of San Lorenzo Gelato in Miami with their San Lorenzo flavor 
Description: Ricotta rosemary gelato infused with honey and pine nuts 

Third place: Rafael Ramsa of Aubi & Ramsa in Miami with their Deconstructed ABC flavor
Description: Amaretto, Irish cream and cognac gelato with amaretti cookies and cognac caramel swirl 

The gelato artisans selected will compete in the North American semifinals of the Gelato Festival World Masters, scheduled for 2025. Flavor, structure, creativity and presentation are the four parameters used for the evaluation, which highlight the choice of ingredients, the craftsmanship in elaborating the recipe, and the visual impact of the gelato.

The jury was composed of Graziano Sbroggio, owner of Graspa Group; Daniel Figueredo, owner and chef of Sanguich; Matthieu Cartron, owner and chef of La Croquantine de Matthieu; and Samuel Gorenstein, owner and chef of Abbale.

The Gelato Festival debuted in Florence in 2010, inspired by the creation of the first gelato recipe by the versatile architect Bernardo Buontalenti in 1559. Since then, the event has expanded its borders, first to the rest of Italy, then to Europe and—starting in 2017—the United States, with a total of 80 festivals held, before embracing the entire planet with the world championship of Gelato Festival World Masters 2021, which concluded in December 2021—with the victory of Adam Fazekas from Budapest—and saw a record of 3,500 gelato artisans judged by international juries.

Food & Ingredients