North America’s 5 Best Gelato Makers of 2025 Reach the Finals

The list of North American finalists for Gelato Festival World Masters, the premier international gelato competition backed by Carpigiani and Sigep by Italian Exhibition Group, is now complete. On May 7, the second North American Semifinal wrapped up at Carpigiani North America’s headquarters in High Point, North Carolina, with five gelato makers advancing to the Finals in Los Angeles on August 30 and 31, 2025.

The five finalists

• 1st: Tassia Vicentin Rezende, Tre Cuori Gelateria & Açaí, Ellisville, MO, “Arachidi”: all-natural peanut butter gelato with crunchy peanuts and dulce de leche, topped with Belgian chocolate.
• 2nd: Mohammad Alqawasmi, Bazaria, Plano, TX, “Fig Krokan”: almond gelato with caramelised figs and almonds.
• 3rd: Francia Magsaysay, Francy’s Artisanal Ice Cream, Bergenfield, NJ, “Passion Fruit, Yuzu and White Chocolate”: passion fruit and yuzu gelato swirled with white chocolate gelato, variegated with passion fruit reduction.
• 4th: Juan Antonio Coyoli Maciel, Super Creamy, Mexico City, “Lisi”: sweet pumpkin gelato with a swirl of coffee, cinnamon, butter and rum, topped with pumpkin seeds.
• 5th: Stefania Pede, Cocoa 40 Inc., Newmarket, Ontario, “Sea Turtle”: malt-infused gelato with salted coconut caramel, 70% dark chocolate and roasted pecans.

The finalists were chosen after two years of competition in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Entries were judged on taste, texture, creativity and visual and verbal presentation, based on ingredient choice, the maker’s skill in developing the recipe and their ability to communicate it, and assessed by sight, taste and smell.

The jury was Steve Christensen (Headmaster of Scoop School in Wildwood, MO, and Executive Director of the National Ice Cream Association), Patrizia Pasqualetti (CEO of Patrizia Gelato, five US locations), Andia Xouris (CEO of Andia’s Ice Cream, Cary, NC) and Keith Gardiner (ACF Triad Chapter, NC).

Already qualified from the first Semifinal in 2023

• Golan Chetrit, Noi Due Gelato, New York City: “Halva Nagila”
• Gabriele di Marco, Oretta Restaurant, Toronto, Ontario: “Sapori di Sicilia”
• Maria Liliana Biondo, uGOgelato, Cincinnati, Ohio: “Mandorland”
• Melanie Wolf, Pompelmo Gelateria, Westerly, R.I.: “Taste the Tropics”
• Giuseppe Lollino, Vero Coffee & Gelato, Franklin Park, Ill.: “Tribute to Setteveli”

Other participants

• Jason Corosanite, Café Vine, Philadelphia: “Pineapple Upside Down”
• Anna Crucitt, Mercurio’s, Pittsburgh: “Caramel Coffee Crunch”
• María De Los Ángeles Morales, Gelato Shop, Xalapa, Mexico: “Besos de Fresa”
• Lara El Alam, Divino, Georgetown, Ont.: “Molassini”
• Agustin Gimenez, Quore Gelato, Miami Beach: “Cheestacchio Yuzu Dream”
• Alfonso Jarero, Ozio, Mexico City: “Alicia”
• Irvin Jiménez, Cuina, Mexico City: “Bocado de Flores”
• Anna Rose Lim, Amorcita Gelateria, Mexico City: “Coffee Cardamomo & Orange Blossom”
• Martin Littkermann, The Buff Stuff Store, Stirling, Ont.: “Vanilla”
• Miguel Lopez, Naranja Piña Gelato, Miami: “Mojito”
• Carlotta Orrico, Delicious, Weston, Fla.: “Delizioso”
• Dora Posada, Casa Morgana Gelatos, San Antonio, Texas: “Morgana’s Goat Spell”
• Karyn Pumphrey, Gelato Queen, Monroe, Ga.: “Caramel Apple Bourbon”
• Vincenzo Tettamanti, Gemelli Artisan Gelato, West Chester, Pa.: “Fresh Ricotta, Rosemary and Raw Honey”
• Onur Yimaz, Ice Creamonology, Toronto: “Mastic & Passion”
• Gisella Zomparelli Chung, Gelato North, Toronto: “Dubai Chocolate”

The 2022 to 2025 edition marks the sixteenth year of Gelato Festival World Masters, which debuted in Florence in 2010, spread across Italy and Europe, reached the United States in 2017 and then went global. Its 2018 to 2021 edition involved more than 3,500 gelato makers.

What this means for gelato makers in Australia

Peanut butter and dulce de leche, figs and almonds, pumpkin and rum: great gelato starts with a clear idea and consistent technique. Majors Group, the official Carpigiani distributor in Australia, can help with artisan gelato machines, Rubicone gelato ingredients and Carpigiani Gelato University.

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