Gelato Festival America

                                                     And the winner is… Giacomo d’Alessandro in Jersey City 
                                                          with his Dark Chocolate Surprise, Polosud Gelato
                                                Runner-Up: Buontalenti by Niccolo Pomposi, Gelateria Badiani
                                           Third Place: New York I Love You! by Noel Knecht, Black Dog Gelato
 
Monday, August 13, 2018--Gelato Festival America, now in its second year, celebrated the first ever Jersey City Edition this weekend at Liberty State Park in Jersey City. The winner of the contest for best flavor at the Festival was Dark Chocolate Surprise, presented by Giacomo d’Alessandro from Polosud Gelato, Coffee & Pastries in New York, NY.
 
As the 1st place winner of the New Jersey festival, Giacomo received a beautiful medal by Florentine goldsmith Paolo Penko. Most importantly, Giacomo will be competing in the North American Semi-Finals in 2019 for a chance to be one of three Americans to compete in the Gelato Festival World Masters in 2021 in Italy.
 
Over two days, eight gelato chefs competed to win this distinguished honor. D’Alessandro's Dark Chocolate Surprise flavor included 80% dark Chocolate from South America with a little bitter infusion and was a hit with the public and the professional judging panel, consisting of eleven judges.
 
It’s the culmination of a fantastic first stop in Liberty State Park, where thousands of people enjoyed authentic Italian gelato and voted for their favorites. The weather couldn't dampen the mood as guests enjoyed demonstrations, contests and games, ceremonies and most importantly, tasting the artisanal gelato.
 
Photographs of the Jersey City Gelato Chefs and Gelato Festival America Team from this weekend: link
Generic Photographs of Gelato Festival America: link
 
Winners of the other categories included:
- The Gela-to-go Award: The most sold gelato at the New Jersey festival was Dark Chocolate Surprise by Giacomo d’Alessandro of Polosud Gelato, Coffee & Pastries.
- Technical Jury by ISA: Persian Paradise by Mike Guerriero of Gelotti in Caldwell, NJ.
- Popular Jury by PreGel: Peach-Mango with Calamansi by Peter Jose of Jersey & Co Gelato in Jersey City, NJ.
- Kids Jury: Partly Cloudy by Jenny Ao of A La Mode.
- Speed Cup Race by ISA: Jenny Ao of A La Mode. Sponsored by ISA, Speed Cup Race is about speed. Each Gelato chef has 30 seconds to serve as many perfect servings of Gelato as possible. Jenny was able to serve 11 perfect cups, followed by Mike Guerriero of Gelotti with 9 and Dolma Yang Chen of Roots with 8.
- Stack It High by PreGel: Mike Guerriero of Gelotti. Sponsored by Pregel, each Gelato Chef was given 30 seconds to stack as many scoops of gelato into a cup as possible. Mike set a record with 22.
- Best Video: The best video made was by Kristina and Pierre Frantz of Dolce Brooklyn in Brooklyn, NY.
 
Held in collaboration with strategic partners Carpigiani, ISA, Italian Exhibition Group Sigep and main Sponsor PreGel, the Gelato Festival America 2018 generates the first entrants into the Gelato Festival World Masters 2021, the challenge for the best artisan gelato chefs on the planet. The first eight gelato chefs selected at each stage of the Gelato Festival America 2018 will win the right to continue the challenge towards the final – it’s the World Cup of gelato, a journey with hundreds of trials over four years on five continents!
 
ABOUT THE GELATO FESTIVAL
The mission of Gelato Festival America is to spread the culture of artisanal Italian gelato in the US, this year featuring eight cities. The event gives visitors the opportunity to experience the secrets of high-quality gelato, learn about the production techniques by watching the artisans at work in the ‘laboratory’, and taste all the competing flavors, voting for their favorite one.
 
The Gelato Festival made its debut in Florence in 2010 inspired by the idea of ​​the first gelato recipe by the architect Bernardo Buontalenti in 1559. Since then, the Gelato Festival has expanded its borders, beginning in Italy, then spreading throughout Europe and finally in 2017 to the United States - A total of 64 festivals, preparing the whole planet for the world championship of the Gelato Festival World Masters 2021.
 
The four 1st place winners from the 2017 Gelato Festival America, along with the eight 1st place winners from the 2018 Gelato Festival America will be competing in 2019 for one of the three spots to head to the Gelato Festival World Masters 2021 in Italy. The 2nd and 3rd artisans will be selected in 2019-2020. In the Gelato Festival World Masters 2021, there will be a total of 36 chefs from all over the world competing for the main title.
The Fabulous Flavors of Jersey City ‘18:WINNER: Dark Chocolate Surprise, by Giacomo d’Alessandro
Polosud Gelato Coffee Pastries
 
RUNNER-UP: Buontalenti, by Niccolo Pomposi
Gelateria Badiani
 
THIRD PLACE: New York I Love You! by Noel Knecht
Black Dog Gelato
 
Peach-Mango with Calamansi, by Peter Jose
Jersey & Co. Gelato
 
Italian Blueberry Cheesecake, by Vincenzo Tettamanti
Gemelli – Artisanal Gelato & Dessert Café
 
Jersey Blues Pistachio, by John Scafide
Scafide Gelato
 
Fresh Ginger Gelato with Candied Pecans, by Kristina Frantz
Dolce Brooklyn
 
Persian Paradise, by Mike Guerriero
Gelotti