Kuwait’s Top 3 Gelato Artisans Head to the 2025 Middle East Finals

The Gelato Festival World Masters, run with partners Carpigiani and Sigep (Italian Exhibition Group), reached Kuwait for the first time on 11 May 2023. Ten gelato makers competed at the Millennium Hotel and Convention Centre Kuwait in Kuwait City, and the three winners are Kuwait’s best gelato artisans for 2023.

The winners

• First place: Fatemah Ben Salamah of MAMA•C Cups&Cones, Jabriya, Kuwait City, with “Darabeel”. Made from scratch with all-natural ingredients, fresh milk and cream, it is named after a Kuwaiti dessert traditionally eaten dunked in milk flavoured with cardamom, saffron, cinnamon and rose water.
• Second place: Maryam Pirasteh of Baix Pastry, Kuwait City, with “Passion Fruits”, a sugar-free passion fruit gelato.
• Third place: Fatima Buhamad of Ice and Ice, Kuwait City, with “Vanilla Gelato with chewy caramel and Dulcy blonde”.

The three move on to the Middle East Finals of the Gelato Festival World Masters, scheduled for 2025.

How entries were judged

Judges scored flavour, structure, creativity and presentation, looking at ingredient choice, craftsmanship in the recipe and visual impact. The jury was Karim Bourgi (executive pastry chef and owner of Kayu Bakehouse), Ziad Hilal (corporate executive chef at BFC Group) and Samer Zakka (director of operations at Argan Albidaa Hotel & Resort).

The other participants

• Lamees Al-Dakheel, Zahr Kitchen Center (Faiha): “Figue à la Carlton”
• Christian Panis, Frost Gelato (Al Assima, Kuwait City): “Bagigi”
• Richard Beltran, Joy Confections: “Mix Berries Gelato”
• Ali Dashti, Soho Bakery (Kuwait City): “Tonga bean and vanilla”
• Mohammed Aldashti, Froyo (Jabriya): “Pistachio”
• Amer Younes Khaleel Ghaben, Vita (Hawally): “Mascarpone”
• Mohammed Soufiane, Marble Slab Ice Cream: “Caramelized Pecan Dragee”

About Gelato Festival

Gelato Festival began in Florence in 2010, inspired by Bernardo Buontalenti’s first gelato recipe in 1559. It spread through Italy and Europe and, from 2017, the United States, with 80 festivals held, before becoming a global championship. The Gelato Festival World Masters 2021 concluded in December 2021 with a win for Adam Fazekas of Budapest, after a record 3,500 gelato artisans were judged by international juries.

What this means for gelato makers in Australia

Local-heritage flavours like Darabeel show how a story can set your gelato apart. Majors Group can support your shop in Australia with Carpigiani gelato machines and Rubicone ingredients, plus Carpigiani Gelato University training for recipe development.

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