Gelato World Cup: Italy and France Launch Their Support Clubs

On 28 August 2019, organisers announced a double milestone for the Coppa del Mondo della Gelateria (Gelato World Cup), run by SIGEP – Italian Exhibition Group and Gelato e Cultura. Italy and France, long-time rivals, formed their own support clubs ahead of the 9th edition, held 19 to 21 January 2020 in the South Hall at the 41st Sigep in Rimini.

Club Italia

Club Italia was founded on 12 June at Cast Alimenti. Its president is Pierpaolo Magni, an award-winning gelato and pastry chef and world champion, with Amelio Mazzella as vice-president. The founding group also includes Leonardo Ceschin, Antonio Capuano, Luigi Tirabassi, Gaetano Mignano, Stefano Venier, Cesare Puglisi of Editrade and Emanuela Balestrino of Chiriotti. Magni called it the “House of Champions” and said the club will contribute culture, know-how and experience to support champions of today and tomorrow.

The Italian team was represented at the founding by chef Marco Martinelli, who thanked the founders for the team. The team members are gelato chef Eugenio Morrone, pastry chef and chocolatier Massimo Carnio and ice sculptor Ciro Chiummo, trained by fellow World Champion Beppo Tonon, known as “the gelato esthete”.

Club France

A few days earlier at Ecole Valrhona in Tain l’Hermitage, after the 2020 team selections, Club France was formed on the initiative of the late Elie Cazaussus, president of the CNGF (Confederation Nationale des Glaciers de France). Team leader Stephane Auge, MOF and award-winning gelato champion, will lead a team of Franck Fouchereau, Yoann Hasselbein, Adrien Lamy and Francois Simon. Vincent Boue, MOF 2018, coordinated the inaugural event. Jean-Claude David is Honorary President and Emmanuel Ryon is coordinator, and champions such as Christophe Domange, Remi Montagne, Christophe Bouret, Jean Thomas Schneider, Benoit Charvet and Gerard Cabiron have already joined.

Auge said Cazaussus wanted a community to help future teams train at the highest level and share gelato knowledge, noting that Bocuse d’Or and Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie winners already have clubs.

Why clubs matter

The clubs also aim to raise the profile and image of gelato chefs with the public. Event president Giancarlo Timballo invited every nation to form a club for its team. Carpigiani was a Golden Sponsor of the 2020 competition. Updates ran on the event’s website and social media under the hashtag #CMG2020.

What this means for gelato makers in Australia

World-class competition pushes technique forward for the whole trade. Majors Group is the official Carpigiani distributor here, and you can explore Carpigiani gelato machines or build your skills with Carpigiani Gelato University.

Source: Carpigiani news. Rewritten for Australia by Majors Group.